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The Brussels European Council called on EU officials to draw up proposals for “targeted economic sanctions” without delay.
EU leaders also called for “the adoption of necessary measures to ban Belarusian airlines from operating in EU airspace and to prevent such airlines from entering EU ports.”
A spokesman for the president of EVS, Charles Michel, shared the news on Twitter.
EU leaders are also demanding the immediate release of the arrested journalist Roman Protasevičius and his friend Sofia Sapega, and an urgent investigation into yesterday’s incident in which a plane flying from Vilnius to Athens landed in Minsk.
Furthermore, EU leaders expressed their support for Latvia, whose embassy staff had been deported by the Belarusian regime.
Politico notes that the true scope of the EU response to Belarus’ behavior will only become clear when responsible officials, diplomats and lawyers agree on the details of the sanctions plan, which must be designed to withstand legal disputes.
Late on Monday night, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda shared a message on Twitter, according to which EU leaders unanimously supported the sanctions and supported the above-mentioned demands.
Earlier Monday, the Belarusian Interior Ministry announced that journalist R. Protasevičius, who had been detained after landing on a plane flying to Vilnius, was being arrested in Minsk. The ministry denied reports that he had had a heart attack. Media close to the regime also distributed a video, which allegedly shows Protasevičius talking about his health.
15 minutes Analysts interviewed note that Aliaksandr Lukashenko’s favorites are used to creating such videos through intimidation or even torture. The Belarusian opposition claims that the man arrested on the way to Vilnius is under physical and moral pressure.
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