Lukashenko, Putin to meet in Sochi on May 28

REUTERS

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi on the evening of Friday, May 28, 2021.

This was reported by Telegram's pul_1 channel.

Since Friday morning, Lukashenko has been receiving prime ministers of the CIS countries, after which he plans to go on a working visit to Russia.

"Negotiations with Putin in Sochi are scheduled along towards evening," the report said.

The meeting will take place against the backdrop of the scandal with the forced landing of a Ryanair plane and the detention of journalist Roman Protasevich.

Read alsoBiden-Putin talks to be held in Switzerland next month

Forced landing

• On May 23, 2021, Belarus scrambled a fighter jet to make a Ryanair plane, which was heading from Athens to Vilnius, land in Minsk. Founder of Telegram's opposition channel NEXTA Roman Protasevich was on board the plane.
• After the plane landed, Protasevich and his girlfriend were detained. In Belarus, he is facing the death penalty.
• The Belarusian authorities explained the emergency landing of the plane by a bomb threat.
• But Swiss-registered internet service provider Proton Technologies AG denies that information, saying that the message about the bomb threat was sent after the plane had been diverted towards Belarus.