Vilnius, June 3, LETA – LRT / BNS. The North Atlantic Alliance is united in its assessment of the forced landing of Ryanair’s Athens-Vilnius plane in Minsk by the Belarussian regime, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday after a meeting with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrid Shimonite in Brussels.
He gave such an answer at a joint press conference to a question from journalists about NATO unity, taking into account media reports that the alliance’s statement on the issue, published last week, was eased at the initiative of Turkey.
“NATO is united and the Allies – all 30 members – have agreed on a very strong statement in which we strongly condemn the forced landing of a civilian plane on a flight from one NATO nation’s capital, Athens, to another NATO nation’s capital, Vilnius. It was a very clear and strong political message. “Stoltenberg emphasized.
Reuters reported that NATO had issued a two-paragraph statement last Wednesday condemning the landing of the plane and the arrest of Roman Protasevich, founder of the opposition media Nexta, and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, but did not say a word. no sanctions against Belarus, nor a call for the release of political prisoners, as requested by the Baltic States and Poland. As the agency wrote, softening the statement requested by Ankara.
Reuters admits that Stoltenberg’s own public statement on the issue was stronger than the text circulated by the alliance.
“The seizure of the plane (…) was dangerous and unacceptable. All member states strongly condemn the detention of journalist Roman Protasevich and his companion Sofia Sapega. We demand their early release and support US, NATO and EU sanctions,” the alliance’s secretary general said at a news conference.
“We need to make it clear that the consequences must be taken into account and that violations of key international norms and rules will have to be paid for,” he said.
Mr Stoltenberg said he was confident that the NATO summit in mid-June would address “both these horrific actions and Russia’s irresponsible behavior”.
Speaking about Russia, the NATO Secretary General said that we should work with this country in two directions, using both deterrence and discussing the future.
“I look forward to it [ASV] President Joe Biden’s visit to Brussels. I am confident that we will discuss a wide range of issues, including NATO’s relations with Russia. (..) Then, after meeting with NATO leaders, Biden will go to meet with [Krievijas] President Vladimir Putin. This is in line with NATO ‘s two – pronged approach, “he said.
“We need deterrence, protection, but also dialogue,” Stoltenberg said, hoping it would ease tensions between the West and the Kremlin.
In turn, the Lithuanian Prime Minister has recognized NATO’s statement on Belarus’s actions as “strong and timely”.
“Most of the international community has reacted strongly and without hesitation, but that is not all. We must continue to put pressure on the regime of Alexander Lukashenko and the Kremlin,” she said.
Šimonīte emphasized that the Belarussian regime must release political prisoners and allow free and democratic elections to take place in the country.
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