EU mulling ways to end jet lease to Belarus’ airline

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — European Union foreign ministers are considering ways to stop illegal flows of migrants 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 EU nations that border Belarus. Irish foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney, whose country is a hub for aircraft leasing, said ending existing leasing contracts could be difficult from a legal standpoint.