US to reimpose sanctions on Belarus after forced landing of Ryanair flight, journalist arrest

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the US will reimpose sanctions on June 3.

The White House has announced that the United States will reimpose sanctions on Belarus next week after the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight to the country on May 23 and the arrest of an opposition journalist on board. In a scathing statement Friday night, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the incident "a direct affront to international norms" and called on President Alexander Lukashenko to allow a "credible international investigation" into the events and "immediately release all political prisoners." Psaki said the U.S. will reimpose "full blocking sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned enterprises" on Thursday, which would prohibit Americans from engaging in transactions with those entities. The U.S. is also coordinating with the European Union and other allies to develop a list of targeted sanctions against key members of Lukasheko’s regime, and the Treasury Department is developing a new executive order for Biden that would give the president increased authority to impose sanctions on "elements" of the regime, Psaki said.