Canada on Tuesday strongly condemned Belarus for forcing down a jetliner and arresting a dissident journalist and said it was examining whether to tighten existing sanctions.
“The behavior of the Belarus regime is outrageous, illegal, and completely unacceptable … we also condemn this kind of dangerous interference in civil aviation,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters.
Separately, the Belarus embassy in Ottawa said in a statement it would shut down on Sept 1, 2021, after 24 years of operating. It did not give details and no one at the mission was immediately available for comment.
Airlines re-routed flights to avoid Belarus’s airspace on Tuesday and Belarusian planes faced a possible ban from Europe, as international outrage mounted over the arrest of 26-year-old Roman Protasevich.
“Canada has existing sanctions in place against Belarus and will be examining further options,” said Trudeau. Last year, following a disputed presidential election in August, Canada slapped sanctions on 55 officials in Belarus.
Canada supports “action through all available international institutions”, including NATO and the International Civil Aviation Organization, Trudeau said.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren, Editing by William Maclean)
