[JURIST] In retaliation for a travel ban imposed on several Belarus leaders by the European Union and the United States [JURIST reports], Belarus Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Popov said Thursday that Belarus will impose retaliatory travel bans [press briefing] on foreign officials supporting the travel bans, and also threatened to ban US and Canadian aircraft from flying over the country. Popov said the list will not be made public in accordance with the "norms in effect" in the country.

The US and the EU banned Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko [official website; BBC profile] and other top government officials from entering their jurisdictions in response to the allegations of rampant voting fraud [JURIST report] surrounding the March elections, where Lukashenko returned to a third term in office with over 80 percent of the popular vote. Belarus officials have said they will appeal the travel bans [JURIST report] as violative of the principles of the Helsinki Accords [text] "related to freedom of travel." Interfax has more.