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Crisis in Belarus

EU summit participants decided to expand economic sanctions against Belarus - Merkel

German Chancellor noted that "many Belarusian politicians and President Alexander Lukashenko " are already on the black list

German Chancellor Angela Merkel EPA-EFE/JOHN THYS

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

© EPA-EFE/JOHN THYS

BERLIN, May 25. /TASS/. The heads of state and government of the EU countries decided to expand sanctions against Belarus and include new individuals and organizations on the black list, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters on Tuesday following the EU summit.

"We demanded that Belarus immediately release both detainees [activist Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega]. We believe that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) should urgently investigate the incident [with the forced landing of the Ryanair]," she said.

"We asked the foreign ministers of [EU countries] to include new persons and organizations in the sanctions list and make a decision on new targeted economic sanctions," Merkel said, noting that "many Belarusian politicians and President [Alexander] Lukashenko " are already on the black list.

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. The plane landed safely and no bomb was found on board. Roman Protasevich, one of the co-founders of the Nexta Telegram channel, which was recognized as extremist in Belarus, was among the passengers. Protasevich, currently living in Lithuania and wanted in Belarus, was detained after the airliner had landed in the Belarusian capital. The plane left Minsk and continued on to Vilnius late on Sunday. Later, it was reported that Russian national Sofia Sapega had been detained along with Protasevich. The same information was posted on the website of European Humanities University in Lithuania, where she studies.

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