EU to extend Belarus sanctions, airspace closure after Ryanair incident

Paris, May 24 (Sputnik) The French Foreign Ministry’s minister of state for European affairs, Clement Beaune, expressed the belief on Monday that the European Union could expand sanctions on Belarus in light of the Ryanair aircraft incident and could also discuss the closure of the Belarusian airspace.
“This act of state piracy cannot go unpunished … Since the electoral events, falsifications and repressions last year, we have several times adopted sanctions against Belarus. Today [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko himself is under sanctions, as well as about 100 responsible persons in Belarus. Naturally, we can extend these sanctions to other persons,” Beaune said, as aired by the BFMTV broadcaster. The minister announced that the incident will be discussed later on Monday at the EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.
According to Beaune, the EU could also consider “the closure of the airspace of Belarus.”