EU agrees additional sanctions on Belarus after forced Ryanair landing: EU diplomat

BRUSSELS - The European Union on Wednesday agreed additional sanctions on Belarus in response to the forced landing in May of a Ryanair flight in Minsk and the arrest of a dissident journalist on board, an EU diplomat said.

The sanctions, approved by EU ambassadors and to be adopted by the bloc's foreign ministers at a meeting on Monday, target seven individuals with links to the Belarus aviation sector, according to the diplomat.

EU ambassadors also signed off on a fourth package of asset freezes and travel bans, to be imposed on more than 70 individuals in response to last year's contested presidential election, the diplomat said. These measures were already being prepared when the Ryanair plane was forced to land on May 23.