The most important thing for you this Wednesday: Belarus’s behavior is being sharply criticized, Putin and Biden are finally meeting and Germany is hoping for a summer fairy tale with Hansi Flick.

Daniel Mohr

Editor in the economy of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

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    1. Sharp criticism of Belarus


    2. Putin meets Biden


    3. Will the federal election be manipulated?


    4. “Choice” in Syria


    5. Fear of powerful landlords


    6. New summer fairy tale with Hansi Flick?


    7. More car races in Berlin

    1.

    Sharp criticism of Belarus

    Redirecting a Ryanair passenger plane to Minsk to arrest a critic of the regime: Angela Merkel speaks of an unprecedented event.

    But the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is unimpressed.

     Video

    message:

    The arrested journalist Roman Protassewitsch, 26, expressed himself in a 29-second video from prison that he was being treated “as correctly as possible and according to the law” and that he was accused of having organized mass unrest. His parents and international observers are shocked. They believe that the video was made under torture.

    Sanctions:

     Belarus will be isolated and given the toughest EU measures: All landing and overflight rights in the EU will be lost, further entry and asset bans against regime representatives will be imposed and state companies will be banned from trade, according to the decision of the EU states on Tuesday. Protassevich and his partner are to be released immediately. The Belarusian airspace is to be avoided in the future. Security there is no longer considered guaranteed, said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

    How is Russia reacting?

     Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describes suspicions that Russia was involved in the diversion of the plane as a Russophobic obsession.

    The detention of Protassevich's Russian friend was accepted as an “internal matter” for the neighboring country.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin is considered the friend and patron of Lukashenko.

    more on the subject

    FAZ podcast for Germany: Lukashenko's plane hijacking: "Brutal blow in Europe's face"

    2. Putin meets Biden

    There is much need for discussion between the presidents of Russia and the United States.

    Now Vladimir Putin accepts Joe Biden's offer to talk.

    The time has come on June 16 in Geneva.

    Oppositionists: It is

     not only in Belarus that critics of the regime are being persecuted with great severity; Russia has also been criticized many times for its dealings with Alexei Navalnyj.

    Joe Biden explicitly mentions the persecution of Russian opposition activists as a topic of conversation.

    Middle East:

     Moscow could play an important role in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. America sent a sign of reconciliation on Tuesday: American Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken said on his Middle East trip in Jerusalem that the United States would organize "international support" for the post-war reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. He also announced that the United States would reopen its Consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem. It was closed in 2019 by then US President Donald Trump despite sharp international criticism.Blinken will travel through the region until Thursday and, after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, will also meet with the Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi and the Jordanian King Abdullah II.