Belarusian aircraft are also banned from arriving in Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia

Today, 7:04

Updated today, 7:53

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Lithuania and Poland have banned Belarusian airlines from entering the country’s airspace. Other countries, including Latvia, have also stopped air traffic with Belarus.

Lithuanian Minister of Transport Marjus Skuodis pointed out at the government meeting that the European Council in its conclusions had made it very clear that the use of the airspace of the bloc member states should be prohibited for Belarusian airlines.

The representative of the Polish Cabinet of Ministers informed that the decision was made in response to the actions of the Belarusian authorities, which forced the landing of the Ryanair airline in Minsk to detain opposition journalist Roman Protasevich.

Already on Wednesday, a Belarusian plane on its way to Barcelona, ​​which was not allowed to cross the Polish border, was forced to return to Minsk.

Slovakia has also announced a re-entry ban. Its Foreign Minister Ivan Korchok said on Twitter that it would not allow Belarusian airlines to fly over their airspace, as well as use their airports.

Following the decision of #ME ???????? leaders, Slovakia ???????? bans overflights of its airspace & use of its airports for Belarusian airlines. Clear response to unacceptable actions & breach of rules by Belarus regime.

– Ivan Korcok (@IvanKorcok) May 26, 2021

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CONTEXT:

May 23 Belarus forced to land in Minsk Ryanair ‘s 126 – passenger flight from Athens to Vilnius. The passenger plane was escorted to Minsk airport by Belarusian fighter jets. Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, has personally ordered the interception of the plane.

The aim of the operation was to detain one of the passengers: a member of the staff of the Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlan Cihanouska, one of the founders of the opposition media “Nexta”, its former editor-in-chief Roman Protasevich. The Lukashenko regime accuses him of terrorism, for which he even faces the death penalty.

The actions of the Belarussian regime are condemned by both the Belarusian opposition and Western officials, who described as state-sponsored air piracy, hijacking of a passenger plane and gross violation of international civil aviation rules. The day after the events in the EU leaders agreed to deny Belarusian airlines flown into EU airspace and called on airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace. Also Latvia restricted air traffic with Belarus, and airBaltic has announced the cancellation of the entire flight to Minsk.

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