Portugal: ’Without Russia’s support, Lukashenko has no future in Belarus’ – Maas

Subscribe to our channel! German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ’has no future’ without Russian support, as he spoke to the media in Lisbon, on Thursday, warning that more sanctions against Minsk could come soon. Speaking ahead of a meeting with his EU counterparts, Maas stressed that the upcoming Geneva summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin would be present a ’good opportunity’ to discuss the issue of Belarus. He also emphasised that the recently imposed sanctions may “only be the beginning of a large and long spiral of sanctions“ and that the EU is “checking not only which individuals but also which companies in Belarus can be sanctioned.“ The top German diplomat also noted that the EU expects the “more than 400 political prisoners to be released and as long as that is not the case, there can be no easing in the EU of the sanctions.“ On Sunday a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius was diverted and force