MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. A meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus is still planned for late May, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters on Tuesday, adding that the Belarusian leader would have a chance to provide his Russian counterpart with the details of the Ryanair flight incident.
"The meeting is indeed scheduled for later this month and we will announce the date and venue in due time," Peskov promised, pointing out that the event "was planned and preparations began before Sunday’s developments." "If it takes place, President Lukashenko will surely have an opportunity to provide the Russian head of state with the circumstances and causes of what happened," Peskov noted.
The Kremlin spokesman refrained from giving an unequivocal response, when asked if Russia could provide assistance to Belarus in the wake of the European Union’s decisions. "As for assistance in something related to the Ryanair flight, it depends on what Belarus will say at the meeting," he stressed.
A Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight that took off from Athens was forced to make an emergency landing at Minsk International Airport on May 23 after a reported bomb threat, which came up empty. Minsk specified that Roman Protasevich, wanted in Belarus as a co-founder of the Nexta Telegram channel, which the Belarusian authorities recognized as extremist, had been among the flight’s passengers. He was detained by law enforcement officers. The flight departed later on Sunday continuing on to its final destination of Vilnius. Subsequently, the media reported that Russian national Sofia Sapega had been apprehended together with Protasevich.