German Chancellor Angela Merkel departs after an EU summit in Brussels on May 25, 2021. The European Union agreed Monday to impose sanctions against Belarus, including banning its airlines from using the airspace and airports of the 27-nation bloc, amid fury over the forced diversion of a passenger jet to arrest an opposition journalist. (OLIVEIR HOSLET, POOL VIA AP)

BRUSSELS - European Union leaders agreed on Monday to impose more sanctions on Belarus, including economic ones, called on their airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace and authorized work to ban Belarusian airlines from European skies and airports.

We are closing our airspace to planes from Belarus and call on EU airlines not to fly over the country ... Further economic sanctions will be presented soon.

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President

Meeting in Brussels, the 27 national leaders of the bloc demanded an immediate release of dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, as well as an investigation by the International Organization for Civilian Aviation into a Sunday incident during which Belarus forced a Ryanair flight to land in Minsk.

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“We are closing our airspace to planes from Belarus and call on EU airlines not to fly over the country,” said the head of the bloc’s executive, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Further economic sanctions will be presented soon.”

The EU currently has a travel ban and an asset freeze in place on 88 Belarusians, including Alexander Lukashenko, and 7 companies, over Minsk’s crackdown on protests following a contested presidential election last year.

Further individual sanctions could target oligarchs bank-rolling Lukashenko, diplomats said.

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Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the new restrictions must be put in place immediately.