Alexander Lukashenko yesterday gave a briefcase of documents to Vladimir Putin, saying it contained everything he needed to know about what “really happened” with the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.

The Belarusian dictator reached beside his chair for the briefcase after he got a warm welcome at a meeting with the Russian president in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. “I have taken some documents to show to you so that you understand what really happened,” he said, offering it to Mr Putin who looked on.

Belarus scrambled a fighter jet to force an Athens-Vilnius flight to land in the Belarusian capital on Sunday, falsely telling its pilot of a bomb threat on board the plane. When the flight landed, authorities arrested a dissident journalist, Roman Protasevich, and his girlfriend. European countries have since barred the Belarusian national air carrier from entering their airspace amid a fierce row over the hijacking.

Before getting down to business, Mr Putin and Mr Lukashenko joked about enjoying a swim in the nearby sea – with the Russian leader saying a dip in the Black Sea would bring out good results for the talks.

But the purpose of the trip for Mr Lukashenko was to secure the backing of his key ally against the Western nations who have issued sanctions and flight bans.

The meeting was held amid growing pressure on Mr Putin to arrange the release of Sofia Sapega, Mr Protasevich’s girlfriend, who is seen as a bystander caught in the cross-fire of Mr Lukashenko’s all-out war with the opposition.

In the briefcase, Mr Lukashenko said, was information on “what kind of people they are”, a reference to Mr Protasevich and his partner.

Both have appeared in what seem to be forced confession videos released by the Belarusian state.

The meeting stretched into late evening, and no public remarks about Ms Sapega were released.

Russian air control on Thursday had refused to admit an Air France plane that skirted Belarusian airspace but yesterday planes taking similar evasive measures were permitted entry.

Mr Putin spoke warmly of the two countries’ ongoing efforts to expand their economic and political co-operation within the framework of a union state, but added little detail.

Earlier yesterday, the EU publicly pledged to provide Belarus with €3bn in grants and loans as soon as the country “changes course” and “transitions” to democracy, implying Mr Lukashenko’s potential resignation.
At the start of the talks in Sochi, Mr Lukashenko ranted about the EU sanctions, describing them as an attempt to reignite the opposition protests that followed his re-election in August that was widely rejected as rigged.

“It’s an attempt to destabilise the situation like last August,” he said. 

 In an emotional tirade, the 66-year-old bemoaned the EU sanctions against the Belarusian flag carrier, Belavia, pointing to its role in carrying “thousands and thousands” of travellers from EU nations and the US who were stranded at the start of the pandemic.

“They have punished the Belavia staff who have helped evacuate thousands of their people!” Mr Lukashenko exclaimed. “What an abomination!”

Mr Putin nodded in sympathy, pointing to a 2013 incident in which a private plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales landed in Vienna after several European nations had refused to let it cross their airspace, purportedly over speculation that Edward Snowden, who leaked classified US government information, was on the plane. Austrian and Bolivian officials disagreed over whether the plane was searched after landing before resuming its journey. “The Bolivian president’s plane was forced to land, the president was taken off the plane, and it was OK, everyone kept silent,” Mr Putin said with a chuckle. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2021)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]