Since we closed the border, the act of banditry has reduced drastically – Hameed Ali

Since August, thousands of migrants have been trying to cross the Polish border from Belarus. They have come from Yemen, Syria, Iraq or the Democratic Republic of Congo, hoping to enter the European Union. Poland has accused Belarusian head of state Alexander Lukashenko of instrumentalising migrants in a feud with the EU, and has opted to deport them. Turned away from both sides, men, women and children find themselves stranded along the border in the middle of the forest.

Poland says it has summoned the Belarusian charge d'affaires, Alexander Chesnovsky, after Belarusian soldiers armed with long guns crossed into Polish territory.

Scores of migrants are stranded in the border region between Belarus, Poland and Lithuania. A refugee based in Austria has headed to Poland in hopes of finding his father and mother. Magdalena Gwozdz-Pallokat reports.

The Kremlin said Russia is trying to resolve the situation. The EU is reportedly preparing sanctions against a Russian airline over the transportation of migrants to Belarus.

"Russia doesn't threaten anyone," the government spokesperson has said in a bid to calm concerns raised by Ukraine, the European Union and the US.

As the situation on the border between Poland and Belarus is deteriorating dramatically for thousands of migrants, others are trying to get into the EU via the Baltic states.

The military alliance has urged Russia to be "transparent about its military capabilities" on its border with Ukraine. Meanwhile, Germany has called on Moscow to exercise "restraint."

Armenia's government announced that Moscow had brokered a truce after they reported that 15 of their troops had been killed by Azerbaijani soldiers on the tense border region between the two countries.

Belarus has signaled its intention to talk with the EU over the humanitarian situation at the Polish-Belarusian border. But the deadlock has proven fatal for some of the thousands stranded while trying to reach the EU.

Polish security forces report multiple attempts by migrants to cross the border and detain over 100. A migration policy expert says Poland is flouting EU law.

Estonia's recently-elected president is urging caution over the situation at Belarus's borders with the European Union. Thousands of migrants hoping to enter the EU and claim asylum there, mainly from the Middle East, are camped at the borders. Asked by FRANCE 24 how dangerous he judges the tensions to be, Alar Karis said: "I think it's a threat. It's a border of the EU and of a NATO state. We should be very careful and cautious about what's going on Of course the sad thing is that there are innocent people in between that they are using as a shield."

Can NATO strike the right balance of force and diplomatic fortitude to make the Kremlin back off? Aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Teri Schultz tees up a key meeting of foreign ministers in Riga.