Contents tagged with Belarus
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Russian and Belarusian special services agree to jointly fight against ‘destructive activities of the West’
The heads of the Russian and Belarusian special services agreed to jointly fight "the destructive activities of the West against the Union State", reported Interfax.
The decision was made in Vitebsk during a working meeting between Sergey Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and Ivan Tertel, chairman of the KGB of Belarus.
"The SVR of Russia and the KGB of Belarus, in the spirit of traditionally fraternal relations, have agreed to work together to counter the …
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Ukraine calls on Belarus to release Roman Protasevich
The Ukrainian Parliament adopted a statement regarding the incident with the forced landing of the Ryanair plane in Minsk, which occurred on May 23.
In the statement, the Ukrainian parliament strongly condemns the actions of the Belarusian authorities to divert the Ryanair flight and the arrest OF the Belarusian opposition journalist, Roman Protasevich.
The Parliament called for the immediate release of Roman Protasevich and all political prisoners, an end to the torture used by the …
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Lukashenko ready to allow Russian troops into Belarus if necessary
Self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that he is ready to allow Russian troops in Belarus, if necessary, but sees no need for a Russian permanent military base.
He said this at a meeting on cooperation with Russia.
"There were no discussions in terms of the deployment of the Russian Armed Forces on a permanent basis, the creation of some bases. This was not even discussed. And we don't need that. Because, according to our concept of military security of the Union …
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Russian airlines start bypassing Belarus’ airspace
Russian airlines have started to bypass Belarus’ airspace, despite the fact that the European restrictions do not apply to them.
Forbes reports, citing sources in the airline industry, that about 10 Russian flights flew around Belarus as of May 27.
"It is impossible to give the reasons for the change of routes and whether it is due to political motives," said one of the publication sources. "There may also be technical reasons."
According to another source, the airlines had asked in advance …
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U.S. and Poland launch investigations into Ryanair incident
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Poland have launched their own investigations into the emergency landing of the Ryanair plane in Minsk, which lead to an arrest of a well-known Belarusian oppositionist Roman Protasevich, said the head of the Criminal Police of Lithuania Rolandas Kiškis at a press conference in Vilnius.
"Along with the investigation launched in the Polish Republic, we have information from our colleagues from the United States that the FBI has launched its own …
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Lukashenko complains to Putin about pressure from the West
Self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko complained about Western pressure during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Deutsche Welle reports.
The meeting between Putin and Lukashenko took place in Sochi on Friday, May 28.
Lukashenko complained about restrictive measures against Belarusian airlines, including the state-owned Belavia, after the incident with the forced landing of the Ryanair airliner.
"This case with the plane, Belavia has nothing to do …
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Moscow to open Russia's airspace for flights bypassing Belarus
Russian authorities decided not to continue the air war with the EU after European airlines began to fly around Belarus in response to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.
On Thursday evening, Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviation, convened for an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with European flights requesting permission to enter the Russian airspace.
A Vienna-Moscow Austrian Airlines flight and a Paris-Moscow Air France flight were denied entry into the …
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Ukraine bans flights to and from Belarus
The Ukrainian government approved a decision during an extraordinary meeting to ban the use of Ukrainian airspace by aircraft registered in Belarus, reported the press service of the Ukrainian government.
The ban will come into effect on May 29, 12:00 am Kyiv time . According to the statement, this decision was made after the incident with the Ryanair fight, which occurred on May 23.
"In order to ensure the safety of flights and passengers, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the State Aviation …
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EU prepares to block import of Russian gas through Belarus
The European Union is preparing to tighten the currency stranglehold around Alexander Lukashenko’s neck, whose regime is already losing a key source of export earnings after NAFTAN refinery was put on the U.S. "blacklist".
The European sanctions against Belarus in response to the forced landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk may include measures against the transit of Russian gas through Belarus, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell.
The sanctions may be imposed on …
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Moscow refuses to allow European flights bypassing Belarus to enter Russia’s airspace
The Russian authorities seem to have come up with a response to air blockade of Belarus, which was introduced by the European Union after Lukashenko’s special operation to force the landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk.
On Wednesday, Air France, Europe's third-largest airline by passenger traffic, was forced to reschedule an evening Paris-Moscow flight because it did not get a permission to enter Russian airspace.
The airline planned to fly around Belarus and requested permission to enter …