EU mulling ways to end jet lease to Belarus’ airline

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — European Union foreign ministers have looked at ways to stop illegal migration into the 27-nation bloc from neighboring Belarus including stopping companies from leasing jets to Belarusian airline Belavia. Several EU leaders have accused the government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of facilitating migration into the EU in retaliation for EU sanctions. Thousands of migrants have been lured to Belarus on tourist visas and encouraged to cross into Poland, Lithuania and to a lesser extent Latvia. All three of them are EU nations that border Belarus. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after a meeting of foreign affairs ministers that the bloc could decide to implement sanctions against Belarus’ state airline.