Alexander Lukashenko to meet Vladimir Putin amid Ryanair scandal

The meeting of the presidents of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, may take place in Sochi on Friday, May 28. A possible date is named by the Kommersant newspaper with reference to its sources.

Lukashenko will go to Putin amid the Ryanair plane scandal: on May 23, the airline's plane urgently landed in Minsk due to bomb reports. To escort the aircraft, a MiG-29 fighter of the Belarusian Air Force was raised. Immediately after landing, the Belarusian security forces detained the creator and editor-in-chief of the NEXTA Telegram channel Roman Protasevich, who was on board. Data on explosive devices on board the aircraft were not confirmed.

Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian leader Dmitry Peskov, without giving an exact date, said that the talks between Lukashenko and Putin are scheduled for the end of May. According to him, in particular, the parties will discuss integration issues.

• Previous talks between Putin and Lukashenko took place in the Kremlin on April 22. The conversation lasted for about four hours.
• Following the meeting, Peskov said that politicians discussed cooperation in high-tech areas, energy, as well as trade and economic cooperation.
• On May 9, the presidents talked by phone. They exchanged congratulations on Victory Day and opinions on the internal situation in Belarus and Russia.