The Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing a new challenge after the Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko’s decision to arrest his critic journalist Roman Protsavich in the air. Putin is finding it difficult to defend his friend Lukashenko because of the possible opposition by the US and Western countries.

It is said that Alexander Lukashenko is already facing harsh restrictions from Western countries on matters of human rights but nothing changed because he has the support of Vladimir Putin. But this time, Putin is facing an embarrassing situation.

In fact, there is widespread resentment across Europe over the forcible landing of Ryanair’s flight on Minsk in the Belarusian capital on Sunday, 23 May, and the arrest of the journalist Roman Protsavich. The aircraft was going from Greece to Lithuania via Belarus airspace.

Belarus stopped this civilian aircraft by sending its fighter aircraft and forced it to land in Minsk, claiming the possibility of a bomb. A fighter jet from Belarus forced the pilot of the civil aircraft. The European Union has reacted sharply and protested this action.

Meanwhile, the United States also condemned this incident. In fact, most European countries and America have immediately banned flights to and from Belarus. All major European countries imposed a ban, and the US agreed on this.

But the arbitrariness of Belarus’s authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has become a headache for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Actually, Alexander Lukashenko and Putin have an inclination towards each other. Although the interests of the two countries are different. Still, both of them have a friendship. If Putin wants to establish his influence on Belarus, Belarus considers the image of a powerful leader as a protective shield for himself. Belarus, with 95 million citizens, is an important ally for Putin and important for Russian interests. But now this incident seems to be a headache for Russia, especially for Putin.

Meanwhile, Putin scheduled to have his first face-to-face meeting with US President Joe Biden next month. But most western countries, including America, are furious with Belarus’ move so, in such a situation, Putin will have to decide how much he can move forward to continue to support Lukashenko.

Russia wants to improve its relations with the US, but this recent crisis has made things difficult for Putin because of the Belarus incident. For Putin, it has also become a matter of deep crisis because the Russian officers themselves had approached the US to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.

Americans think Putin behind the scene 

If we trust the American press, Russian officials, and pro-Kremlin media institutions in agreement with Belarus in the hijacking incident. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Western countries of adopting double standards. She said that the reaction of the US and European countries remains different from similar incidents in other countries.

But Lukashenko’s opponents in Belarus believe Russia is supporting the show. “I think people in the Kremlin can’t do without Lukashenko. They also suggest that since there are no Russian supporters in Belarus, Putin has no alternative but to support Lukashenko,” Frank Vyakorka, the senior adviser to the exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya of Belarus. “Putin has no choice but to support Lukashenko. “

Some Western leaders like Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb have called on Russia to ban Belarus over the Ryanair incident. But Lukashenko’s anti-Belarusian and critics are making it more complicated. The opposition of Belarus is urging Western countries to focus on Minsk (capital of Belarus) instead of Moscow. The opposition says that Lukashenko should not be seen as a puppet of Putin.

Rejecting the idea that the leader of Belarus may have sought permission from Russia before forcibly landing the Ryanair aircraft, they said that Lukashenko does not listen to anyone. “He is absolutely unpredictable, but a freelance person. He does what he feels is good for him and his country no matter what the outcome will be.”