Estonian PM warns EU against dropping sanctions on Belarus airline

FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737-800 plane of Belarusian state carrier Belavia takes off at the Domodedovo Airport outside Moscow, Russia May 28, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

PARIS (Reuters) - The European Union must not back down from imposing sanctions on Belarus state airline Belavia after several countries in the bloc expressed doubts over the measure, Estonia's prime minister said on Wednesday, warning that it could weaken the EU's hand.

The EU and NATO have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of using migrants as a weapon to pressure the West by sending people fleeing the Middle East to Minsk and then onto the borders of Poland and the Baltic states.