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Russian President Putin (r.) And Belarusian ruler Lukashenko at their most recent meeting
Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / dpa
Last Sunday the Belarusian authorities forced a Ryanair passenger plane to land in the capital Minsk.
The anti-government blogger Roman Protassewitsch and his Russian friend Sofia Sapega sat on the plane, both of whom were imprisoned.
The fate of Sapega is "not indifferent to Russia," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
At the same time, he emphasized that the 23-year-old was a Russian citizen, but had a residence permit in Belarus.
The alleged hijacking of an airplane by Minsk and the imprisonment of the two young opposition activists led to diplomatic upheavals and worsened the relationship between the long-term ruler Alexander Lukashenko and the West considerably.
The EU decided on sanctions, and the United States also want to enforce punitive measures against nine Belarusian state-owned companies in the coming weeks.
In consultation with the EU and other partners, targeted sanctions against “key figures in the regime” are also to be prepared.
In addition, the EU promised Belarus a three billion euro support package - in the event that Belarus initiates “a democratic transition”.
$ 500 million for Lukashenko
At a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on the Black Sea, Lukashenko complained on Friday about the pressure from the West.
Moscow has now announced that Belarus will be supported with a loan of US $ 500 million in the coming weeks.
At the meeting in Sochi it was agreed that the money would be paid out by the end of June, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax news agency.
It is the second tranche of a loan that was decided on last Sunday before the forced landing of the passenger plane in Minsk, which was heavily criticized internationally.
Putin and Lukashenko mainly discussed issues of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries at their meeting, Peskow continued.
Belarus is economically badly hit and is already in the chalk near Moscow with billions.
ala / dpa