Vladimir Putin receives Alexander Lukashenko to strengthen his support for the Belarusian dictator after the scandal of the hijacking of the commercial plane in Minsk

Vladimir Poutine welcomed Russia’s rapprochement with Belarus on Friday, amid European criticism after the hijacking of a commercial plane to Minsk, after receiving its Belarusian counterpart in the city of Sochi Alexander Lukashenko who denounced Western attempts to “destabilize” his country.

This visit by Lukashenko to the Russian seaside resort on the shores of the Black Sea (south) comes as the Belarusian regime faces sanctions from the European Union (EU), which accuses him for ordering the hijacking of the plane. Ryanair advertisement to arrest dissident Roman Protasevich.

Despite the international community’s questions against Minsk, Putin, Lukashenko’s ally, hailed on Friday the “concrete results” of the rapprochement with Belarus.

“We are building a stronger union” between the two countriessaid the Russian president. And he added: “We are moving steadily in this direction (…) and this work is already yielding concrete results for our citizens.”

Belarus hijacked a flight between Athens and Vilnius to Minsk last Sunday, a move that the country’s authorities said was necessary due to the bomb threat they received, and which ended in the arrest of a dissident journalist who was traveling on the plane. . For the EU, which immediately urged airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, the bomb threat was a hoax.

“It is very clear what they expect from us, these Western friends (…) There is an attempt to destabilize the country so that the situation is like last August,” “Lukashenko told Putin, saying reference to the wave of protests, the regime.

For Russia, Belarus has been transparent in this case. Instead, he accuses the 27 members of the European Union of “irresponsible behavior that endangers the safety of passengers” by asking airlines to avoid Belarus, according to ministry spokeswoman Maria Zajarova.

This EU decision led to the cancellation of several Air France flights, and Austrian Airlines announced the cancellation of its flight from Vienna to Moscow after Russian authorities rejected a route change to avoid the Belarusian airspace.

Some in Europe fear this is Russian retaliatory measures, which the Kremlin denied, citing “technical” reasons. Russian Air Authority Rossaviatsia explained the delay in confirming flight plans due to “increased demands from airlines”.

The Belarusian president this week rejected accusations by Western countries, which consider that the plane was hijacked to arrest journalist Protasevich. Lukashenko defended the hijacking of the plane as a legal action “to protect his people” from an alleged bomb threat on the plane, and alleged that he did not know Protasevich was on board.

However, the suspicions that the bomb threat was staged were reinforced by two elements.

Swiss company Proton Technologies, which has the address of the email account from which the bomb threat was sent, revealed that “This message was sent after the hijacking of the plane.” For its part, the Dossier.center site publishes a photo presented as that of this email, the sending time of which is 09:57 GMT. But the transcript of conversations between flight FR4978 and Belarusian air traffic controllers, released by Minsk, indicates that the pilot was informed of the threat at 9:30 a.m. GMT, and a minute later he was recommended to land in the capital. Belarusian.

Belarusian authorities said Minsk airport had received an e-mail signed by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas informing that there was a bomb on board.

The Belarusian investigative committee on Friday denied the mounting accusations, saying in a statement that several threatening messages were received at 9:25 a.m. GMT and 9:56 a.m. GMT on Sunday.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), based in Montreal, “Decided to investigate the facts.”

Protasevich, who was detained at Minsk airport with his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, was last seen in a video released by Belarusian authorities last Monday, in which he admits to helping organize mass riots, a charge he could lay for 15 years. jail. However, his supporters denounced that he was forced to confess after being tortured by Belarusian security forces. In fact, in the pictures you can see marks on his face.

The mother of the opposition journalist on Thursday evening made an emotional appeal from Warsaw, Poland, where she is in exile with her husband. “I want you to convey our request to the world, to government officials, to EU leaders, to US leaders: I cry out, I beg you, help me free my son”Natalia Protasevich declared.

With information from AFP

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