The United States on Friday announced punitive measures against Belarus targeting the regime of strongman President Alexander Lukashenko, who met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin amid a worldwide outcry more than the forced diversion of a European plane.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki named for “a credible international investigation into the events of May 23,” which she named “a direct affront to international norms.”
Belarus scrambled a military jet to divert a Ryanair plane and arrested 26-year-old opposition journalist and activist Roman Protasevich who was onboard, triggering a worldwide outcry.
The White House announced it was working with the European Union on a list of targeted sanctions against important members of Lukashenko’s regime.
Meanwhile, financial sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises, reimposed by Washington in April following a crackdown on pro-democracy protests, will come into impact on June 3.
Further US moves on Belarus could target “those that support corruption, the abuse of human rights, and attacks on democracy,” Psaki stated.
The White House also issued a “Do Not Travel” warning for Belarus to US citizens, and warned American passenger planes to “exercise extreme caution” if thinking about flying more than Belarusian airspace.
The European Union has also urged EU-based carriers to prevent Belarusian airspace.
However President Vladimir Putin celebrated Russia’s close ties with Belarus on Friday as he hosted Lukashenko in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
With observers closely watching the talks to see how far the Kremlin would go to assistance the regime, the Russian leader stated he was “very glad” to see Lukashenko and agreed with him the Western reaction was an “outburst of emotion”.
‘Rock the boat’
Lukashenko complained the West was looking for to stir unrest in Belarus.
“An attempt is underway to rock the boat to reach the level of last August,” he stated, referring to anti-regime protests following a disputed election.
“It’s clear what these Western friends want from us.”
The Belarus strongman, who arrived with a briefcase, stated he wanted to show Putin “some documents” associated to the Ryanair incident and thanked him for his assistance in the most current standoff with the West.
The talks lasted for more than 5 hours but their final results had been not announced.
Over the previous years Lukashenko has had a volatile relationship with Moscow, playing it off against the West and ruling out outright unification with Russia.
But soon after the Ryanair plane incident his solutions seem to be restricted.
Putin and the Belarus leader have met frequently given that August, when historic protests broke out against Lukashenko’s almost 3-decade rule.
The 66-year-old waged a ruthless crackdown on his opponents and has leaned increasingly on the Russian president amid condemnation from the West.
Several people today died for the duration of the unrest in Belarus, thousands had been detained, and hundreds reported torture in prison.
Sunday’s plane diversion was a dramatic escalation, with EU leaders accusing Minsk of primarily hijacking a European flight to arrest Protasevich.
Technical motives
The overflight ban has led to a number of cancellations of air journeys in between Russia and Europe, soon after Russian authorities rejected plans that would have skipped Belarusian airspace.
Russia insists the cancellations are purely “technical,” but they have raised issues that Moscow could be systematically refusing to let European airlines land if they prevent Belarus.
The Kremlin criticized the flight ban as politically motivated and hazardous, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling it “completely irresponsible”.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated the bloc was monitoring no matter if this was a broader policy from Russia, but Moscow insisted the disruptions had been in no way political.
Belarus authorities claimed to have received a bomb threat against the Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying the dissident.
Minsk stated it demanded the flight land in the Belarus capital based on the message it stated was sent from a ProtonMail address by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
Protasevich, who helped organize the demonstrations against Lukashenko’s rule last year, was arrested along with Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega, 23, soon after the plane landed in the city.
‘Braver’
Borrell has stated proposals are “on the table” to target important sectors of the Belarusian economy like its oil items and potash sectors.
Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Friday urged the EU to be “braver” and impose more sanctions against the Minsk regime.
After meeting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, Tikhanovskaya stated measures getting discussed by EU nations did not go far sufficient.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday warned Lukashenko that “it is time to change course.”
“No amount of repression, brutality or coercion will bring any legitimacy to your authoritarian regime,” she stated.
The European Commission president also wrote to the opposition supplying a 3-billion-euro package to assistance “a democratic Belarus” if Lukashenko actions down.