Belarus is threatening the West with backlash because of the sanctions following the forced landing of a passenger plane. The government had prepared "protective measures", said Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko on Wednesday the newspaper of the presidential office, "Belarus Segodnja", according to. "These measures will be quite painful for those countries that have taken an openly hostile stance." These included restrictions on transit, Golovchenko said. However, he left it open whether he meant goods or the transit of oil and gas to Europe. There could also be an embargo on imports. Golovchenko also did not say which products it could be.
Ruler Alexander Lukashenko also threatened the West: "We will trade in traditional and new markets." After almost unanimous international criticism, Lukashenko also defended the forced landing. "I acted lawfully by protecting people - according to all international rules," said Lukashenko on Wednesday in parliament in Minsk, as reported by state television. The authorities had used the landing on Sunday to arrest the government critic Roman Protassewitsch at the airport.
Lukashenko said without further explanation that Belarus had received information from Switzerland that there was an explosive device on board the aircraft.
That is why the plane that was on its way to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk with the help of a fighter plane.
Switzerland countered the claim.
"The Swiss authorities had and have no knowledge of a bomb threat on the Ryanair Athens-Vilnius flight," the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
"Accordingly, there was no report from Switzerland to the Belarusian authorities."
Critics accuse Lukashenko of dangerous interference with air traffic.
Because of the action, the EU has launched new sanctions against the power apparatus in Belarus.
This also includes a flight ban for airlines of the former Soviet republic.
"That the machine was forced to land with a MiG-29 fighter plane is an absolute lie!" Said Lukashenko.
Belarus acted for security reasons because the plane flew over the country's nuclear power plant.
The authorities of the authoritarian ruled republic landed the plane of the Irish airline Ryanair on its way from Greece to Lithuania - allegedly because of a bomb threat.
That later turned out to be a false alarm.
More than 100 people were on board, including Protassevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega.
Both were arrested.
The government first demonstrated Protassevich, then his girlfriend in video recordings.
The fate of the two is uncertain.