Episode Details

Ryanair flight FR4978 was traveling from Athens to Vilnius, in Lithuania on May 23rd, but was forced to land in Minsk, Belarus after the pilot was told that there was a bomb on the plane. However, the real reason behind the forced landing was that opposition leader, Pavel Latushko was on board. He was sent to jail in Minsk.

International community members have already expressed their discontent. The EU has announced an airspace ban against Belarus, promising more sanctions, and this reaction did not please Russia's President, Vladimir Putin.

What does this latest development mean for the EU's relationship with Belarus, and what can we expect from the future of these ties? Wikistrat interviewed Matthieu Boulegue, an expert in Eurasian security, defense, and Russia's foreign and domestic policy to discuss this in Wikistrat's latest podcast episode.