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Lukashenko claims he discussed Belavia flights to Crimea during meeting with Putin

Belarusian President has already ordered relevant agencies to devise flights to Crimea

MINSK, June 1. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that the government of Belarus and the Russian side will look into opening flights to Crimea, BelTA reported Tuesday.

"Ukraine has closed its sky to us. We have our own resort in Crimea, in Miskhora, where people used to travel, to fly to all the time," he said, according to the report. "I don’t think there will be problems here - oh well, there are more open states that we can always get to Crimea through."

According to Lukashenko, he told Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Sochi: "you should think how we can get to Crimea. We can’t go through Poland, after all, they don’t let us through either."

According to the report, Lukashenko has already ordered relevant agencies to plan flights to Crimea.

He noted that the economy has always been the foundation of Russian-Belarusian relations, while the organization of flights to Crimea also has a certain political subtext.

He disclosed that, earlier, when asked about "how to get to Crimea now," Ukrainian Ex-President Pyotr Poroshenko said: "I beg you, only through Ukraine."

"Today, I would like to ask [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky: how to get to Crimea now? Only through Russia," Lukashenko said.

Therefore, the Belarusian leader believes he is "totally free" in this matter and "has no concerns."

"They made this mess, this combination that borders on provocation. So, I believe I’m off the hook, as well as the rest of the Belarusians," the president noted.

Following the May 23 Ryanair plane incident in Minsk, the EU barred Belarusian airlines from flying to and over the Union’s territory, and recommended European carriers to avoid the Belarusian airspace. A number of countries have already closed their airspace for the Belarusian flag carrier, including the UK, France, Sweden, Latvia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia, forcing Belavia to look for new destinations.

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Belarus Alexander Lukashenko

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