Lukashenka, Putin Meet Amid Outrage Over Diversion Of Plane
udf.byRussian President Vladimir Putin (right) meets with his Belarusian counterpart in Sochi on May 28 Belarusian authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka met in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi with Russian President Vladimir Putin as EU foreign ministers debate possible targets for new economic sanctions against Minsk in response to its diversion of a commercial plane and the arrest of a journalist on board. Greeting Lukashenka on May 28, Putin emphasized that the one-day meeting was scheduled prior to the «outburst of emotions» prompted by the plane diversion on May 23. «We have topics to discuss without these developments,» he told Lukashenka. «Yes, it is an outburst of emotions,» Lukashenka agreed.