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.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the actions of Alexander Lukashenko and called the intrusion of the Belarusian authorities into the commercial aviation alarming. The Prime Minister also noted that Canada had already imposed sanctions against Belarus and would discuss the introduction of new ones.

"The behavior of the Belarusian regime is illegal and totally unacceptable," Trudeau commented. — We condemn it and call for the immediate release of Protasiewicz."

Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Foreign Minister Omar Algabra in a joint statement called the forced landing of the plane "a reckless and brazen act of the Belarusian regime," which jeopardized the safety of passengers. They recommended Canadian airlines to avoid flights over Belarus for security reasons.

Trudeau also said he supports pressure on Belarus through all available international institutions, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (IATA), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and NATO. Canada will participate in an emergency IATA board meeting this week.

This weekend Canada switches to winter time

"Canada will continue to work with its partners to ensure that the voices of the people of Belarus are heard and to hold accountable those responsible for undermining democracy, suppressing media freedom and violating human rights," Garnot and Algabra said in a statement.

On Tuesday, May 25, the Belarusian embassy announced the closure of its embassy in Canada from September 1. The consular department will cease its work already on 10 July.

Source, Source, Source

#Canada news

#arrest of Protasevich

#Alexander Lukashenko

#forced landing of a plane in Minsk

#sanctions against Belarus

#Lukashenko landed a plane