Canada may impose sanctions against Belarus
The authorities criticized Lukashenko's actions and called on Canadian airlines not to fly over Belarus.
On 23 May, Belarusian opposition journalist Raman Protasevich was detained in Belarus. He was flying from Athens to Vilnius, but the plane of the Irish airline RyanAir made an emergency landing in Minsk at the initiative of the Belarusian authorities.
The Belarusian government reported that the plane was mined and ordered it to land. A MiG-29 fighter jet was taken into the sky to escort the plane. Nothing was subsequently found on board. Immediately after landing in Minsk, Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, a Russian citizen, Sofia Sapega, were arrested, while three more passengers — allegedly KGB agents — left the plane. Seven hours later the plane flew to Vilnius.
Alexander Lukashenka later said that the bombing message had come from Switzerland and that he had acted lawfully and in accordance with all international rules to ensure the safety of the passengers. He also added that the fighter jet had been lifted in order to bring the plane to land in an emergency situation. The president calls the assumptions of the presence of agents on board a lie. In addition, Lukashenka suggests that the incident was a provocation on the part of Western countries.
Lukashenka also noted that the decision to land in Minsk was made by the crew of the aircraft. However, RyanAir CEO Michael O'Leary called the incident a "state-sponsored aircraft hijacking.
Monday, May 24, the EU leaders agreed to tighten sanctions against Belarus. Belarusian airlines are now forbidden to fly over the 27 EU member-states and land at their airports, while the EU airlines, in turn, will not fly over the airspace of Belarus.
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