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2021.05.25 15:54 GMT+8

More airlines ban flights to Belarus after plane arrest

Updated 2021.05.25 20:33 GMT+8
CGTN

Ukraine will ban flights to and from Belarus starting Wednesday, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said in a statement on Telegram messenger on Tuesday.

Passengers arriving from Belarus will not be allowed to transit through Ukraine's airports, according to the PM. 

Such move came after leaders of the European Union (EU) member states on Monday agreed to cut the bloc's air links with Belarus in response to Sunday's Ryanair flight diversion and the arrest of a blogger, Roman Protasevich.

Following EU's decision, Air France said on Tuesday that the airline has halted flights over Belarus. The French airline, part of Air France-KLM has "suspended overflights of Belarusian airspace until further notice", the company said in a statement. 

Polish airline LOT said on the same day that they will not fly in Belarus airspace and has suspended flights to the capital Minsk, confirming a report from state-run news agency PAP.

Read more:

Belarusian dissident arrested after Ryanair plane forced to divert

EU to cut air links with Belarus following Ryanair flight diversion incident

When asked about comments on the issue, the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called for the relevant parties to exercise restraint to avoid any further escalation of tension. 

A departure board is pictured at Minsk National Airport. /CFP

Western countries accused Belarus of hijacking the Ryanair plane. According to AFP, French President Emmanuel Macron is in favor of inviting Belarus opposition politicians to next month's G7 summit if the British meeting hosts agree, which was seen as a step to ramp up pressure on Belarus.

On the Belarusian side, Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz said there is no doubt that the actions of their authorities ... "fully met established international rules."

In a statement, the Belarusian transport ministry said that representatives of agencies, including the International Civil Aviation Organization, were invited for "further consideration of the circumstances".

According to Belarusian Telegraph Agency, the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a phone conversation on Tuesday.

During their talks, Vladimir Makei confirmed Belarus' "full transparency and readiness" for open cooperation with the relevant international bodies, including the provision of all the necessary true information, reported the agency.

(With inputs from agencies)

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