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Jen Psaki, White House spokeswoman
Photo: TASOS KATOPODIS / imago images / UPI Photo
Next week, the US intends to reinstate sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned companies in response to the forced landing of a passenger plane in Minsk.
In addition, in consultation with the EU and other partners, targeted sanctions against "key figures in the regime" are being prepared by President Alexander Lukashenko, said US President Joe Biden's spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Psaki did not provide details of the sanctions against the nine companies.
It therefore remained unclear which companies are affected.
The US first imposed sanctions on Belarus in 2006.
Furthermore, a new legal instrument is being prepared to give the president more leeway to impose further penalties, said Psaki on Friday evening (local time).
The Foreign Ministry has issued a travel warning for Belarus.
The FAA has warned the airlines to exercise "extreme caution" when flying over Belarus, it said.
The US is calling for an international investigation
The authorities of Belarus had landed in Minsk last Sunday a Ryanair plane en route from Greece to Lithuania with the help of a fighter jet - allegedly because of a bomb threat. However, the email containing the alleged bomb threat was only received on an account at Minsk Airport almost half an hour after Belarusian flight control had informed the Ryanair pilot of an alleged explosive device on board, as SPIEGEL reported. According to EU data, 171 people were on board, including the critical blogger Roman Protassewitsch, who was arrested. Most of the remaining passengers traveled on to Vilnius after a long delay.
The US is calling on Lukashenko to allow a credible international investigation into the incident, said Psaki.
In addition, all political prisoners had to be released and a serious dialogue started with the opposition, which would lead to fair and free presidential elections under international observation.
The EU heads of state and government had already agreed on further sanctions against Belarus at their summit on Monday.
These include blocking European airspace for aircraft from Belarus, sanctions against those responsible for the incident and economic sanctions.
This should now be implemented in the coming weeks.
pbe / dpa / AFP