Putin meets Lukashenko as journalist’s arrest criticism boils up Europe

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Friday and lauded the relationship shared between the two countries amid heavy criticism being directed towards Belarus’ recent plane diversion to arrest Roman Protasevich, a journalist opposed to the country’s leadership.

The high-stake meeting was closely monitored by observers to gauge the extent of support Russia was willing to provide as the Belarusian situation develops.

Following the Ryanair plane’s forced diversion, the European Union urged EU-based carriers to avoid Belarusian airspace and promised fresh sanctions against Lukashenko and regime officials.

During talks in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin warmly greeted Lukashenko and agreed with him that the Western outcry over the plane was an “outburst of emotion”.

Putin said he was “very glad” to see Lukashenko and the two should go for a swim.

Also Read: Flights avoiding Belarusian airspace blocked by Russia over journalist row

In carefully worded remarks in front of reporters, Putin also said that when then-Bolivian President Evo Morales’s plane was grounded in 2013 there was little Western outcry.

“The president was led out of the plane, and nothing, silence,” Putin said at the start of the talks.

Lukashenko complained the West was seeking to stir unrest in Belarus.

“An attempt is under way to rock the boat to reach the level of last August,” Lukashenko said, referring to the outbreak of protests against his regime following a disputed election.

“It’s clear what these Western friends want from us.”

Also Read: Europe and US call for urgent Belarus investigation by ICAO at UN

The Belarus strongman, who arrived with a briefcase, said he wanted to show Putin “some documents” related to the Ryanair incident and thanked him for his support in the latest standoff with the West.

The talks lasted for more than five hours but their results were not announced.

The two leaders praised growing bilateral cooperation.

“We’ve been building the Union State,” Putin told Lukashenko. He added, “We are confidently moving in that direction, that work is already bringing concrete results to our citizens.”

The two countries have formed a “union state”, which engulfs a partnership on military and economic grounds. Russia, however, has been urging a more complex integration.

In an attempt to show a united front, the two world leaders have been meeting frequently since August 2020, when protests against Lukashenko’s three-decade reign were kicked off.