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The Prime Minister emphasized that an airplane had in fact been hijacked in Belarus as a hostage for a passenger moving from one European capital to another.
“This is an unprecedented case, extremely aggressive, and Europe needs to take a firm, swift and united stand against such behavior,” Kariņš said.
Speaking about EU-Russia relations, which are also on the agenda of this European Council meeting, Kariņš emphasized the need to understand that Russia is trying to destroy and divide the EU, its values and democracy in various ways.
“We must understand that this is a threat and a challenge to the EU, and we must stand together and find an appropriate and at the same time clear answer for Russia,” the head of the Latvian government said.
A plane on its way from Athens to Vilnius on Sunday reportedly had to change course in Belarusian airspace near the Lithuanian border and go to Minsk, where Belarusian criminal police detained one of its passengers – a member of the headquarters of opposition leader Svetlana Tihanovska, “opposition media” founder and editor-in-chief Roman Protasevich, who is facing the death penalty in Belarus.
Kariņš will take part in a European Council meeting in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, where one of the issues to be discussed is EU-Russia relations, but European leaders will also discuss the case of the plane hijacking in Belarus.
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