The European Union on Monday agreed to impose sanctions on Belarus, after the country’s president ordered a plane to divert and land in the capital of Minsk, resulting in the arrest of an activist.
UK bans Belarus airline, points finger at Russia
World
May 25, 2021
LONDON: Britain on Monday banned Belarus flag carrier Belavia and said Russia was likely complicit in the forced landing in Minsk of a civilian jet to detain a dissident journalist.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps also said he had told the Civil Aviation Authority to instruct UK aircraft to avoid Belarusian airspace, in order to keep passengers safe .
Shapps suspended the operating permit of Belavia, which flies daily direct flights from Minsk to London Gatwick, and operates other flights to London Heathrow via Paris in a code-share with Air France. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he had summoned the Belarusian ambassador in London to register anger over the reprehensible incident and flagrant breach of international law .
Minsk accused of playing ‘Russian roulette’ with journalist detention after plane ’hijacking’ Sean Morrison
Minsk has been accused of playing “Russian roulette” after a Ryanair flight was diverted and a prominent critic arrested in Belarus.
A special meeting of the EU Council was held on Monday evening with the 27 members states agreeing to ban Belarusian airlines from EU airspace and airports.
Speaking in the early hours of Tuesday in Brussels, European Council president Charles Michel said the events were “unacceptable, shocking and scandalous”.
“We will not tolerate that they play Russian roulette with the lives of innocent civilians,” he added.
EU cuts air links with Belarus over forced plane landing | Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) bssnews.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bssnews.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Western powers prepared to pile sanctions on Belarus and cut off its aviation links on Monday (24 May), furious after it scrambled a warplane to intercept a Ryanair aircraft and arrest a dissident journalist, an act one leader denounced as ‘state piracy’.
Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko sparked international outrage by dispatching a fighter jet Sunday to intercept a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying wanted reporter Roman Protasevich, 26, and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega.
Belarus forced a plane carrying an opposition activist to land in its capital, provoking a furious outcry from world leaders who described it as an “act of state terrorism” ahead of an EU summit expected to toughen sanctions on Minsk.