Vice-Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz called for the international isolation of the Belarusian authorities in connection with the landing of a Ryanair aircraft due to reports of mining, he said in an interview with the Funke group.
“The regime in Minsk must be isolated at the international level”, – the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper quoted him as saying.
The vice-chancellor also said that by forcing the plane to land, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko violated international law.
The Ryanair plane flying from Athens to Vilnius on May 23 urgently landed at the Minsk airport due to a message about mining, which was not subsequently confirmed. This plane was flown by Roman Protasevich, the founder of the Nexta Telegram channel, recognized as extremist in Belarus. He was detained while checking documents on previously initiated criminal cases against him under several articles, including the article “organizing mass riots.” He could face up to 15 years in prison.
Following the discussion of Belarus on Monday, EU leaders made a political decision to ban flights of Belarusian aircraft in European airspace, and also recommended European airlines to avoid flying over Belarus. The EU called for new sanctions on Belarus to be adopted as soon as possible in connection with the aircraft incident. Now the decision of the EU leaders needs technical approval at the ministerial level.
Belarus responded by saying that the message about the mining of the plane had been sent to the e-mail of the Minsk airport. The commander of the crew himself decided to land in Minsk, there can be no question of any coercion or turn of the aircraft, said the commander of the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defense Forces Igor Golub. The day before, the aviation department of the Ministry of Transport of Belarus published a transcript of the conversation with the Belarusian dispatcher of the Ryanair pilot. The decryption does not contain any threats from the dispatcher to the crew.