The European Union and the Belgian Federal Government strongly condemned the unacceptable behavior of the Ambassador of Belarus, as he described, which forced a civilian plane yesterday to make an emergency landing in Minsk, as a Belarusian journalist on board this plane was arrested.
Kyiv. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – May 25, 2021 – Diplomatic Affairs
High Representative Josep Borrell summoned the Secretary-General of the European External Action Service, Stefano Saneno, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the European Union, Alexander Meknevich to condemn the unacceptable step taken by the Belarusian authorities to force a civilian to land a plane. Protasevic is a Belarusian freelance journalist and activist.
Ambassador Mekniewicz has been informed that these events have drawn strong condemnation from the European External Action Office and all the member states of the European Union. It was confirmed that the Belarusian authorities violated the safety of passengers and crew members by their coercive actions.
On Monday, Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilms announced on Twitter that the Belarusian ambassador was summoned in Brussels regarding the actions of the Belarusian authorities yesterday, saying:
“The Ambassador of Belarus has been summoned due to the unjustified and unacceptable actions that I have committed in the past hours. The official authorities there must release Mr. Protasevi immediately. We deplore our support for the democratic aspirations of Belarus. ”
Earlier, a plane belonging to the low-cost airline “Ryanair” bound for Athens to Vilnius made an unscheduled emergency landing yesterday at Minsk National Airport. The reason for this emergency landing was based on an indication of the presence of explosives on board. After this forced landing of the plane, the Belarusian authorities detained the founder of the Nexa channel, the journalist Roman Protasevic, who was actively covering the protests in the country after the fraudulent presidential elections in August of last year.
Read also: ICAO Comments on the Forced Landing of the Plane in Minsk
Source: Ukrgate