BELARUS Lukashenko assures that the detained journalist planned a "massacre"
Profile Roman Protasevich: hunt the 'boy' who grew up against Lukashenko
The United States
has announced that it will impose sanctions against
Belarus
, whose leader
Alexander Lukashenko
was received by his Russian counterpart
Vladimir Putin
amid the international scandal caused by the diversion of a commercial flight on Sunday to detain a political opponent in Minsk.
"The forced diversion by
Belarus
, under false pretenses, of a commercial Ryanair flight circulating between two member states of the
European Union
" and the arrest of journalist
Roman Protasevich
"constitute a direct challenge to international standards," said the White House
spokeswoman Jen Psaki
.
In addition to the measures announced in recent weeks, the
White House
said that it is drawing up with the
European Union
"a list of selective sanctions against key members of the
Lukashenko
regime
" associated with current "human rights violations and corruption, the falsification of 2020 elections and the events of May 23, "according to the spokeswoman.
The Treasury Department is also working on developing sanctions against "elements of the
Lukashenko
regime
and its support network."
The United States
has also advised its citizens to avoid traveling to
Belarus
and "exercise extreme caution" if they consider flying over Belarusian airspace.
Washington
confirmed that economic sanctions against nine Belarusian state companies, reimposed in April after the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, will take effect on June 3.
Following the disputed
2006 elections
, Washington prohibited all transactions with these companies.
The Treasury then
suspended these sanctions in 2015
, welcoming some progress.
But the US government warned at the end of March that this suspension could not be renewed at the next deadline.
In a clear demonstration of support for
Lukashenko's
regime
,
Putin
received him this Friday in the seaside resort of Sochi, along the Black Sea.
"I am very happy to see you,"
Putin
said
, smiling, welcoming
Lukashenko
to his summer residence
, offering him a swim in the sea after the meeting.
Putin praised the "concrete results" of the rapprochement.
"We are building a stronger union" between the two countries, he said.
Meanwhile,
Lukashenko
denounced Western attempts to "destabilize" his country, while the host recalled that the forced landing in Vienna in 2013 of the plane of the then Bolivian president
Evo Morales
, suspected of having left Moscow with the American whistleblower
Edward Snowden
, it had generated few protests.
Five hours
" It
is very clear what they want from us these western friends", said
Lukashenko
to
Putin
.
"There is an attempt to destabilize the country so that the situation is like last August," he added, referring to the wave of protests against the regime.
The talks in Sochi lasted more than five hours, but there were no announcements.
On Sunday, Belarus diverted a flight between Athens and Vilnius to Minsk, a measure that, according to the country's authorities, was necessary because of the bomb alert they received, and which led to the arrest of a dissident journalist who was traveling on the plane.
For the EU, which asked airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, the bomb alert was a hoax.
For
Russia
,
Belarus
has been transparent in this case.
And it accuses the 27 EU members of having "irresponsible behavior that endangers the safety of passengers" by asking airlines to avoid Belarus, said ministry spokeswoman
Maria Zajarova
.
This EU decision led to the cancellation of several
Air France
flights
, and
Austrian Airlines
announced the cancellation of its flight from Vienna to Moscow after Russian authorities rejected a route change to avoid Belarusian airspace.
Some in
Europe
fear that they are Russian retaliatory measures, which the Kremlin denied, citing "technical" reasons.
Lukashenko
believes that Europe wants to "strangle" his country, many of whose top officials are already under sanctions due to the repression of opponents since last year's protests.
The leader of the Belarusian opposition in exile,
Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa
, for her part, called on the EU on Friday to be "braver and stronger" and impose additional sanctions on
Belarus
.
Brussels, for its part, presented a project to support with 3,000 million euros for a "future democratic Belarus" whose advent, according to the president of the Commission,
Ursula von der Leyen
, is a matter of time.
Staging
Despite Minsk's remarks, suspicions that the bomb alert was a staging have been reinforced by two elements.
The
Swiss-based
company
Proton Technologies
, which has the address of the electronic account from which the bomb threat was sent, revealed that "said message was sent after the plane was diverted."
On the
other hand, the
Dossier.center
website
publishes a photo presented as the one in that email, whose delivery time is 09:57 GMT.
But the transcript of the conversations between flight FR4978 and the Belarusian air traffic controllers, published by Minsk, states that the pilot was informed of the threat at 09:30 GMT, and a minute later he was recommended to land in the Belarusian capital.
The Belarusian inquiry committee on Friday denied the staging allegations, stating in a statement that several threatening messages were received on Sunday at 0925 GMT and 0956 GMT.
The
Montreal-based
International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) is investigating the events.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Belarus
USA
international
Russia
FinanceThe bitcoin defends itself against criticism for its waste of energy: it consumes half that of the banking system
CultureThe physicist Gerald Holton wins Frontiers of Knowledge award for revealing the cultural dimension of science
Several injured during a shooting at a casino in the USA
See links of interest
Work calendar
Home THE WORLD TODAY
Stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia, live: Abbiategrasso - Alpe di Mera
CSKA Moscow - Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Barça - Olimpia Milan