The United States on Tuesday banned ticket sales for air travel to and from Belarus, acting after Minsk forced a Ryanair flight to land and arrested a dissident journalist aboard.

The order is Washington's latest response to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's harsh crackdown against months of pro-democracy protests over his alleged rigging of an August 2020 election. The longtime ruler denies election fraud.

The United States and the European Union have refused to recognize his victory and imposed sanctions against top Belarusian officials and other targets.

In issuing the ban, the U.S. Transportation Department said the State Department had determined that limiting travel between the United States and Belarus was in Washington's foreign policy interest following the diversion of the Ryanair flight.