Macron wants Belarus opposition to join G7 summit: presidency sources

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron is in favour of inviting Belarus opposition politicians to next month's G7 summit if the British meeting hosts agree, people close to the presidency said on Tuesday.

The proposal comes amid outrage in Europe over Belarus's diversion of a Ryanair flight on Sunday and arrest of a dissident journalist on board.

Earlier Tuesday, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called on the G7 and the US to ramp up pressure on Belarus's strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Lukashenko sparked international outrage by dispatching a fighter jet Sunday to intercept a flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying blogger Roman Protasevich, 26, and his partner Sofia Sapega

The forced landing of the plane in the Belarus capital Minsk over a supposed bomb threat led several EU-based airlines to opt out of flying over Belarusian airspace.

In a call with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Tikhanovskaya "called on the United States to isolate the regime and pressure it through sanctions," she said on Twitter.

Separately, in a post on her Telegram channel, Tikhanovskaya said that she asked for the opposition to be invited to next month's G7 summit in Britain's Carbis Bay.

Tikhanovskaya also suggested discussions at the G7 summit "with the participation of the Belarusian democratic forces" and called for an international conference to resolve the political crisis that erupted in Belarus last year after disputed elections.