Moscow. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko wants to speak to his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin after the EU sanctions have been imposed on his country’s air traffic. According to the Kremlin, the meeting on Friday will be about closer economic ties.
He hopes to resume flight connections between Belarus and Russia, which have been suspended due to the corona pandemic, said Lukashenko on Friday before his flight to Putin’s residence in Sochi.
According to the airline Ryanair, Belarusian air traffic control had alerted a scheduled aircraft on its way from Athens to Vilnius in Belarusian airspace last weekend about an alleged bomb threat and escorted it to Minsk by a fighter jet. There, the opposition journalist Roman Protassewitsch was taken from the plane and arrested.
Because of the incident, the EU decided that Belarusian airlines are no longer allowed to use the airspace of the international community and that they should be banned from taking off and landing at EU airports. Aircraft from the EU should avoid Belarusian airspace.
Russia supports Belarusian economy
In the past, Russia has repeatedly supported the Belarusian economy with cheap energy supplies and loans. However, Lukashenko has repeatedly accused Moscow of seeking control over important parts of the Belarusian economy and ultimately wanting to end the independence of his country. He used the possibility of rapprochement with the West as a leverage. However, he is isolated after the weekend incident.
In the recent crisis, Russia supports Lukashenko. The Moscow Foreign Office spokeswoman Maria Sakharova called the EU sanctions completely irresponsible and a danger to the safety of passengers.
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