Bloomberg: “President Joe Biden said he applauded European Union efforts to impose economic sanctions against Belarus over the forced landing of a Ryanair Holdings Plc jetliner and the arrest of a dissident journalist, and had ordered his team to “develop appropriate options” to hold those responsible accountable. The ‘removal and arrest of Raman Pratasevich, a Belarusian journalist traveling abroad, are a direct affront to international norms,’ Biden said in a statement Monday night, adding that the U.S. condemned the act ‘in the strongest possible terms.'”

“European Union leaders hours earlier asked the European Commission to propose that Belarus officials be added to an existing sanctions list, as well as to develop broader measures to penalize entire sectors of the country’s economy. The sanctions could target the financial interests of President Alexander Lukashenko and his close relatives and associates, as well as businesses, according to a EU official who described the effort on the condition of anonymity. The plane was traveling between two member states of the union, Greece and Lithuania. Biden added in the statement that he welcomed the demand for sanctions and had ‘asked my team to develop appropriate options to hold accountable those responsible, in close coordination with the European Union, other allies and partners, and international organizations.'”