On the instructions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Ministers Svetlan Stoev, the Director General of “Bilateral Relations” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vasily Takev called for an emergency meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, during which the Belarusian side asked for explanations. forced landing of Ryanair’s civilian flight on May 23, 2021 in Minsk, as well as the subsequent arrest of the Belarusian opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich, the press center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
Presented by the Belarusian Ambassador explanation regarding the landing of the passenger plane and the detention of Roman Protasevich, reflecting the official position of the Belarusian authorities, was not accepted by the Bulgarian side as justified and sustained from an international legal point of view. The intention of the Bulgarian side to support the request for immediate and prompt investigation of the case from ICAO.
Our Foreign Ministry points out that, referring to the united position of the EU member states, which was reflected in the conclusions adopted at an extraordinary meeting of the European Council on May 24, the actions of the Belarusian authorities were identified as absolutely unacceptable and qualified as “Gross violation of the rules of international aviation and flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights and freedoms of passengers”.
During the conversation, the Bulgarian side has repeatedly called for the immediate release of the arrested journalist and for a careful assessment by Belarus of the negative consequences of this unprecedented act on Belarus’ relations with the EU.
Ambassador Lukashevich has undertaken to convey the position expressed by the Bulgarian side.
Earlier, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev described the landing of a passenger plane in Minsk as “air piracy”.
“I don’t know if we realize what dimensions this can take,” he said. According to Stoev, the question also arises about the personal data of passengers, which should be secret: “How are these personal data obtained, how are they provided to the relevant services, who has the right to dispose of them and, accordingly, if this becomes in practice, we face new challenges in air transport “.
The caretaker foreign minister also confirmed that there were no Bulgarian citizens on board.
EU leaders decided last night to close their airspace to Belarusian airlines and adopt a new package of sanctions against Belarusian officials, while recommending that European airlines bypass Belarus’ airspace, AFP recalls.
The Kremlin has “expressed regret” that the EU recommends circumventing Belarus’ airspace
The Kremlin said today it “regrets” the European Union’s recommendation to European airlines to bypass Belarusian airspace as punishment for the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, accused of diverting a plane to Minsk to arrest dissident Roman Protasevich. France Press.
“We can’t help but express our regret. The point is that bypassing the territory of a large enough country in the heart of Europe is, of course, an additional cost for any airline. Our European colleagues took a different path – they decided at yesterday’s summit, without any analysis, to make a quick decision and give a definite decision. recommendation of its airlines, “said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The spokesman noted that such a hasty decision by the EU provoked regret from Moscow.
“We need to understand that these recommendations will ultimately be paid for by the passengers on the planes, who will be in the air for half or an hour more. It all costs money, it comes down to funding. So we can only express regret.” added Peskov.
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