On the first day of the Council, EU’s heads of state and government strongly condemned the forced landing of a Ryanair passenger plane in Minsk and the detention by Belarus of the journalist and opposition activist Roman Protasevich and his companion Sofia Sapega. EU leaders demand the immediate release of both and that their freedom of movement be guaranteed.
“By hijacking a passenger plane flying between the capitals of two European Union Member States, the Belarusian regime has committed a state act of terrorism,” said Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. “The way in which Alexander Lukashenko’s regime arrested a government-critical journalist is unacceptable and will not go unpunished,” Kallas emphasised.
The European Council decided that the European Union will swiftly prepare and impose additional sanctions on Belarusian officials and companies closely associated with the regime, and will develop economic sanctions.
The Council also called on all airlines operating in the European Union to avoid Belarusian airspace and decided to start preparations to ban overflights in the EU airspace for Belarusian airlines and to prevent them from accessing EU airports. “It is in the interest of the security of the citizens of our states that European Union planes do not fly over the airspace of Belarus,” Kallas emphasised.
In addition, the Council called on the International Civil Aviation Organization to conduct an investigation regarding the incident as urgently as possible.
According to Kallas, Estonia plans to initiate a discussion of the case in the UN Security Council at first opportunity.
Last night, the Council also held a strategic debate on the European Union’s relations with Russia and reaffirmed its adherence to the five principles in effect. These principles include the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, the strengthening of relations with the Eastern Partnership countries, the strengthening of the EU’s resilience, selective cooperation on foreign policy and other areas of clear European Union interest, and the need to support Russian civil society and people-to-people contacts.
“Russia is aware that if it wishes for more constructive and better relations with the EU, it must stop its aggression towards Ukraine and Georgia. Crimes committed by Russia on the territory of EU Member States are also completely unacceptable and cannot be left without response. The European Union must be uniform and firm in its relations with Russia,” said Prime Minister Kallas.
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