Alexander Lukashenko

EU foreign ministers have resolved to impose their toughest punitive measures yet on Belarus, a package of economic sanctions targeting sectors that benefit the government of President Alexander Lukashenko.

EU Foreign policy top representative, Josep Borrell, announced the decision following a Monday meeting in Luxembourg, and said he believed they would "put pressure" on Lukashenko.

EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday in Luxembourg to blacklist dozens more supporters of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in a bid to tighten the vice on his government and strengthen its opponents, news wires reported. Seventy-eight individuals are to be hit with measures like EU travel bans or having assets located in the bloc frozen, EU sources told dpa last week.

The European Union must expect a further deterioration in relations with Russia even though ties have already sunk to their "lowest level", EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.

Echoing the forced landing of a Ryanair flight travelling between two EU member states and the arrest of political activist Roman Protasevich in Belarus, the European Parliament has called for further sanctions on the hardline regime in Minsk.

A top American diplomat told Congress on Wednesday that the Biden administration plans to impose additional sanctions on the authoritarian regime in Belarus — a significant step as lawmakers agitate for tougher punishments against a top ally of Vladimir Putin.

A Belarusian political activist stabbed himself in the neck on the first day of his trial on June 1 and was rushed to hospital, a rights group said.

Viasna, an independent rights group monitoring the trial of Stepan Latypov, said it believed the activist had tried to commit suicide following pressure in detention.

Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Friday in a critical display of Moscow's support for Lukashenko's regime, a day after the UN civil aviation agency announced it would investigate Sunday's diversion of a Ryanair plane and the arrest of a journalist on board.

The UN civil aviation agency will hold an urgent meeting Thursday (27 May) to discuss Belarus after Western powers on the UN Security Council called for the body to investigate Minsk's diversion of a European flight and arrest of a dissident.

The United States and western European members of the U.N. Security Council called on May 26 for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to investigate Belarus' diversion of a European flight and arrest of a dissident on board.

Their call came hours after a defiant President Alexander Lukashenko on May 26 defended the action, lashing out at critics at home and abroad.

The Belarusian leader said "ill-wishers" are "trying to strangle Belarus" in his first speech since a commercial flight was intercepted and a critical blogger arrested.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko hit out at Western powers on Wednesday, saying that his country's "ill-wishers" are "trying to strangle Belarus."