Vilnius, May 24, LETA – BNS / ERR. The presidents of the three Baltic states condemned the seizure of a passenger plane by the Belarussian regime in a video call on Monday and demanded the immediate release of opposition protester Roman Protasevich, who was detained in Minsk.
The President of Latvia Egils Levits, the President of Lithuania Gitans Nauseda and the President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaida have acknowledged that after this unprecedented event, the airspace of Belarus should be declared unsafe for international flights and the country’s aircraft should not be allowed into European Union (EU) airports.
They have called for an immediate independent international investigation and for strong and effective sanctions at EU level against the perpetrators of this terrorist attack and the Belarussian regime.
“The Belarussian regime has grossly violated international law and risked the lives of more than a hundred people. This state-sponsored terrorist attack has also threatened the security of international civil aviation, and our response must be appropriate,” Liretuva’s president said in a statement.
The President of Estonia has called for an end to all transit through the territory of Belarus.
Estonia, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, is also preparing to initiate a discussion of Sunday’s events in the Council as soon as possible.
“A blatant act of state terrorism, the hijacking of a plane – is something new even in the arsenal of experienced dictators. The rest of the world must stop treating the Belarussian regime in silk gloves, we must use all available peaceful means to put pressure on the regime. Yesterday’s incident threatened 171 passengers life, in the course of which at least two people were abducted, must not go unpunished, “stressed Kaljulaida after the meeting.
“Unfortunately, no European Union citizen can no longer see Belarus as a safe place, either on land or in the air. Therefore, I think it would be sensible to stop any transit through Belarus. As with sanctions, this will inevitably affect EU Member States, our business and our people. but we must not risk human lives, but yesterday showed that these threats are real, “she added.
Ryanair said on Sunday that its plane on its way from Athens to Vilnius would be forced to land at Minsk airport due to information received from Belarusian controllers about a potential security threat. The information was not later confirmed, but Protasevich, the founder of the opposition media Nexta, who is facing the death penalty in Belarus, was detained at Minsk airport. The Telegram channel Nexta played a very important role in organizing the mass protests in Belarus last year.
By the time the plane was instructed to change course in Belarusian airspace, it was already closer to Vilnius than to Minsk. According to Asta Skaisgirīte, Chief Foreign Adviser of the President of Lithuania Gitan Nauseda, in order to get the plane to Minsk Airport, it was accompanied by a Belarusian air force destroyer and a military helicopter.
The seizure of the plane has also been strongly condemned by senior European Union officials, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and many European Union member states and other countries.
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