Today's D Brief: EU bans flights over Belarus; Biden-Putin meeting set; Tragedy at Nellis; NG leaving DC; And a bit more.
By Ben Watson
May 25, 2021
The D Brief
The EU has imposed a flight ban on Belarus and is promising economic sanctions after authorities in Belarus this weekend used an air force jet to force a Lithuania-bound passenger plane to land in Minsk so journalist Raman Pratasevich could be arrested and detained. Read the EU’s terms for the ban, here.
Worth noting: “Belarus, though not in the EU, borders three EU countries,” which are Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, the BBC reports. “Many flights to and from Asia as well as within Europe use its airspace.” Singapore Airlines, e.g., has already diverted flights away from Belarus.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called for “an urgent international investigation into the dangerous forced landing,” adding that “journalist Raman Pratasevich & [his companion] Sofia Sapega must be immediately released.”
“Outrageous” and “a direct affront to international norms” is how U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday described the actions of Belarus authorities.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/05/the-d-brief-may-25-2021/174277/
