Putin Pushes Ahead With Belarus Loan as Tensions Grow With West
- $500 million loan is sign of support for Russia’s ally
- Putin, Lukashenko went sailing on the Black Sea during talks
Source: Kremlin Pess Service/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Russia will release $500 million from a previously agreed loan to Belarus after talks between the country’s leaders, in a sign of support for its closest ally after the forced landing of a Ryanair Holdings Plc jetliner and the arrest of a dissident sparked a new wave of tensions between Minsk and the West.
Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko discussed the plane incident in detail during “quite constructive” talks Friday and Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on a conference call. He dismissed the European Union’s reaction -- including a recommendation to airlines to stop flying over Belarus and plans for new sanctions on the country -- as “based on emotions.”