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EU leaders are gathering for a summit on Monday evening in Brussels, where they will discuss their response to Belarus forcing down a Ryanair jet and detaining an anti-government activist.
Top EU officials have branded the action by strongman Alexander Lukashenko’s government a “hijacking” and declared it will have serious consequences. Further sanctions against Belarus are among the options on the table in response to the interception of the airliner and the detention of activist and journalist Roman Protasevich, according to officials.
The European Council summit, which starts with a dinner Monday night and continues Tuesday, was called before the interception took place and is meant to cover a range of topics including COVID-19 and climate change. But the incident will now dominate the agenda when leaders hold a discussion on foreign policy over dinner.
Follow POLITICO’s live blog for rolling news, reaction and analysis from the summit.
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