According to Havlíček, a similar measure has so far been taken by France, Lithuania, Sweden and Latvia, from countries outside the EU the United Kingdom and Ukraine. The Deputy Prime Minister stated that the suspension of the approved flight schedule will last until the investigation of the incident. At the same time, the CSA airline stated that it would avoid Belarus on the route from Prague to Moscow, and would fly an alternative route through the Baltics. It will join other European airlines that avoid Belarusian airspace.
Czechs in Belarus who cannot arrive on Wednesday or use another connection will be able to use alternative bus transport, Havlíček said.
An EU summit on Monday evening agreed to ban the flight of Belarusian airlines over Czech territory. According to Prime Minister Andrei Babish (YES), it is essential that sanctions for the act of “state terrorism” fall on the Belarussian regime and not on the population.
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that the Czechia fully supports European steps in the preparation of a list of sanction measures against selected natural and legal persons. It should be ready as soon as possible so that it can be decided by EU foreign ministers in June.
At the same time, the Czechia demands the immediate release of detainees and the investigation of the incident. Diplomats within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are also involved in the preparation of a joint statement condemning the Belarusian regime’s actions. “I instructed our Ambassador to NATO to also support the reassessment of the individual partnership between NATO and Belarus. Part of this process should be to consider restricting the access of Belarusian diplomats to NATO headquarters, “added Kulhánek.
According to Lukashenko, there was a threat that a bomb was on board the plane
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said in a speech to deputies on Wednesday that those who wished bad things to Belarus had gone from organizing the riots to a stage where they were trying to suffocate the country. He said he acted in accordance with the law when he arranged for a Sunday commercial flight to land in Minsk. According to him, he tried to protect the passengers, because the local authorities received word that there was a bomb on board the Ryanair machine. The warning came from Switzerland, he said.
“I acted legally, I protected people in accordance with all international standards,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying by Rio Novosti. According to him, the crew of the Ryanair plane also consulted with the Vilnius airport, but decided to land in Minsk.
Opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend, who were on board, were detained by Belarusian authorities after the plane landed. According to Lukashenko, the journalist was going to organize a bloody uprising in Belarus, he said according to the TASS agency.
The long-standing authoritarian leader of Belarus called the false reports of the media that Belarusian secret service staff were traveling on board the plane. “Three people got off the plane in Minsk so that they would not have to return to Vilnius, but turned them into ‘KGB’ KGB workers,” commented that, in addition to the detainees, other passengers had terminated the flight in Minsk, while most of them continued to Vilnius.
According to Russian media, Pratasevich is facing 15 years in prison in his homeland for holding mass riots. His arrest and forcing the plane to land were sharply criticized by a number of countries and organizations, including United States, The North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), Britain, France, Germany and Poland.
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