Grant Shapps said he had instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to request UK airlines avoid Belarus airspace in order to keep passengers safe and also suspended the operating permit for Belavia.
The United States strongly condemns the forced diversion of a flight between two EU member states and the subsequent removal and arrest of journalist Raman Pratasevich in Minsk. We demand his immediate release. This shocking act perpetrated by the Lukashenka regime endangered the lives of more than 120 passengers, including U.S. citizens. Initial reports suggesting the involvement of the Belarusian security services and the use of Belarusian military aircraft to escort the plane are deeply concerning and require full investigation.
We are closely coordinating our response with our partners, including the EU and Lithuanian and Greek officials. Given indications the forced landing was based on false pretenses, we support the earliest possible meeting of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization to review these events.
Belarus opposition blogger Roman Protasevich, 26, was detained after his Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk by a Soviet-era warplane on the pretext of a bomb threat.
At a crunch summit, the EU also demanded the immediate release of Roman Protasevich, an opposition blogger who has been described as the private enemy of Alexander Lukashenko.
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