A Ryanair aircraft, which was carrying Belarusian opposition blogger and activist Roman Protasevich and diverted to Belarus, in which authorities detained him, lands at Vilnius Airport in Vilnius, Lithuania May 23, 2021. REUTERS/Andrius Sytas
WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) – The United States on Tuesday banned ticket profits for air travel to and from Belarus, performing following Minsk forced a Ryanair flight to land and arrested a dissident journalist aboard.
The get is Washington’s most recent response to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s severe crackdown versus months of professional-democracy protests more than his alleged rigging of an August 2020 election. The longtime ruler denies election fraud.
The United States and the European Union have refused to understand his victory and imposed sanctions in opposition to leading Belarusian officers and other targets.
In issuing the ban, the U.S. Transportation Department mentioned the State Office had established that restricting travel among the United States and Belarus was in Washington’s overseas policy desire subsequent the diversion of the Ryanair flight.
The purchase however would allow “the operation of any transportation deemed to be in the countrywide curiosity of the United States, together with on humanitarian or nationwide protection grounds,” according to the text.
It claimed the buy would extend to “interline” vacation in which tickets are obtained by way of just one airline that include flights operated by multiple airways.
The directive – under thing to consider for numerous months – is mainly symbolic since fairly couple tickets are ordered for journey to Belarus from U.S.-centered journey companies.
It is open for community remark till July 1.
Right after the Could 23 pressured landing of the Ryanair flight en route from Athens to Vilnius, the U.S. government encouraged passenger airways to use serious caution when traveling more than Belarus. At the time, the United States stopped shorter of imposing any limits.
The “Observe to Airmen” does not implement to cargo carriers these kinds of as United Parcel Provider (UPS.N) and Fedex Corp (FDX.N) that fly above Belarus.
United Airways (UAL.O) flies a route to India that at times is routed near Belarus, but no other U.S. passenger provider usually flies by the former Soviet republic’s airspace.
Reporting by David Shepardson and Jonathan Landay Writing by Tim Ahmann Enhancing by Jonathan Oatis and Howard Goller
Our Criteria: The Thomson Reuters Belief Ideas.
About the Author
