Tensions between the European Union and Belarus continue. The EU Council has decided to introduce a ban on overflight of airspace and access to airports within the Union for any Belarusian aircraft, including commercial flights. The measure will enter into force at 11 pm on 6 June Italian time.
“The EU member states – reads the note communicating the decision – will therefore be required to deny permission to land, take off or fly over their territories to any aircraft operated by Belarusian air carriers”.
The decision aligns with the condemnation of European heads of state after the detour imposed by Minsk on a Ryanair flight on May 23, 2021. The operation, carried out to capture dissidents Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega, saw the plane on which they were on board, bound for Athens to Vilnius, forced to land in the Belarusian capital without warning. Here, the two young men were captured by the authorities on charges of organizing subversive activities. On Thursday 3 June, Protasevich appeared on TV. In an interview with state TV, the dissident retracted his position, but according to his supporters he was forced.
Protasevich, 26, during the interview broadcast on the Belarusian state TV ONT.
After the hijacking, the European Aviation Safety Agency also recommended that all EU carriers avoid Belarusian airspace except in emergency situations. A directive criticized by the international airline organization IATA, which argues that flights to Asia, forced to divert, would become longer and more expensive. Belavia’s national airline Belavia has connections with over 20 airports in the Union, including Rome and Milan.
Meanwhile, Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, in exile in Lithuania since August 2020, is calling for tougher sanctions for Lukaschenko’s regime. During a meeting with her supporters in Poland, she said she was “even more concerned about safety following the accident involving Ryanair” and called for the joint intervention of the G7, whose next summit is scheduled for 11 June. . And the situation in Belarus will be one of the topics on the table.