The White House also called for a “reliable international investigation” on the forced landing of the Ryanair plane in Minsk.

U.S. announces punitive measures against Belarus as Russia provide President Alexander Lukashenko supported the forced transfer of European aircraft and the arrest of dissidents in the confrontation with the West.

in a statement On Friday, the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the May 23 incident “a direct insult to international norms” and said that Washington, in cooperation with the European Union, is drafting proposals for key members of the Lukashenko government. A list of targeted sanctions.

She also announced the suspension of the 2019 agreement, which allows U.S. and Belarusian airlines to use each other’s airspace, and called for a “reliable international investigation” of the forced landing of Ryanair’s aircraft.

The Belarusian authorities disrupted a fighter plane last week and flagged it as a false bomb warning, forcing the plane to land, and then arrested the journalist Roman Protasevich who was boarding.

The 26-year-old boy is in custody and is accused of planning a riot. This is related to the historic protest against Lukashenko that broke out in August last year after the controversial election.

Several people died during the unrest, thousands were arrested, and hundreds were reportedly tortured in prison.

Protasevich works on the Nexta Live channel in Poland, which broadcasts protests. He could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Many European countries have imposed flight bans on Belarusian airspace, and EU officials have stated that proposals for key sectors of the Belarusian economy, including its petroleum products and potash sectors, are “under discussion.”

The White House also issued a Belarusian warning of “no travel” to American citizens and warned American airliners to be “extremely cautious” when considering flying over Belarusian airspace.

“Emotional Outburst”

At the same time, economic sanctions on nine Belarusian state-owned companies came into effect on June 3. The sanctions were implemented by Washington after the suppression of anti-democracy protests in April.

Psaki said in the statement that further US actions against Belarus may also target “those who support corruption, abuse of human rights, and attack democracy.”

Before the announcement by the United States, a completely different scene took place in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over Lukashenko’s talks.

Putin said he was very happy to meet the Belarusian leader and agreed that the Western response was an “emotional explosion.”

The Russian President said: “Once they forced the Bolivian President’s plane to land, took him from the plane, said nothing, remained silent,” he was referring to an incident in 2013, when Evo Morales’ The plane was once forced to land in Austria when the United States tried Intercept the whistleblower Edward Snowden.

At the same time, Lukashenko complained that Western countries were trying to cause turmoil in his country. He said: “Efforts are being made to shake the ship to the level of last August.”

The Belarusian leader who arrived with a briefcase told Putin that he would show him some confidential documents about the Ryanair incident, which would help him understand the actual situation.

“There is always someone who will cause us trouble. You will know, and I will inform you.” Lukashenko told Putin.

“I brought some documents so you can understand what happened.”