United States suspends air services agreement with Belarus

The United States is suspending the intergovernmental agreement with Belarus on air services, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Saturday, May 29.

“The United States suspends its discretionary application of the 2019 Air Services Agreement between the United States and Belarus,” she said on the website White House

In addition, since June 3, the United States is imposing sanctions against nine state-owned enterprises in Belarus, which were previously exempted from restrictions by a series of general licenses of the US Treasury Department.

In cooperation with the EU and other US partners and allies, a list of targeted sanctions is also being developed against key figures in the leadership of Belarus, “related to ongoing human rights violations and corruption, fraudulent elections in 2020 and the events of 23 May (the incident with the Ryanair landing in Minsk – Ed.) “.

“We call [президента Белоруссии Александра] Lukashenko to authorize a credible international investigation into the events of 23 May, immediately release all political prisoners and enter into a comprehensive and genuine political dialogue with the leaders of the democratic opposition and civil society groups, which will lead to a free and fair presidential election under the auspices and control of the OSCE, ” statement.

It is noted that the State Department issued a fourth level warning to US citizens not to travel to Belarus.

On the eve of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advised American passenger air carriers with “extreme caution” to fly over the territory of Belarus.

On May 23, the Ryanair airliner made an emergency landing in Minsk due to a message about mining, which was not subsequently confirmed. On board the plane was the former editor-in-chief of the NEXTA Telegram channel recognized as extremist in Belarus, Roman Protasevich. After landing, he was detained.

Western countries sharply criticized Minsk, comparing the incident with the plane to hijacking. At the EU summit on May 24, a political decision was made to ban Belarusian airlines from flying to the EU because of the incident with the Ryanair aircraft. A number of international airlines, including Air France and airBaltic, have refused to use the airspace of Belarus.

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source https://pledgetimes.com/united-states-suspends-air-services-agreement-with-belarus/