Ryanair flight incident: US working closely with EU, demands probe, says Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said that Washington is calling for a full probe into the Ryanair flight emergency landing in Minsk and is working closely with the European Union (EU) on unraveling the incident.

"The United States strongly condemns the forced diversion of a flight between two EU member states and the subsequent removal and arrest of journalist Raman Pratasevich in Minsk. We demand his immediate release," Blinken said in a statement.

The US State Secretary said the incident endangered the lives of over 120 passengers, including US citizens.

"Initial reports suggesting the involvement of the Belarusian security services and the use of Belarusian military aircraft to escort the plane are deeply concerning and require full investigation," Blinken said, adding that the US is "coordinating our response with our partners, including the EU and Lithuanian and Greek officials."

Blinken said that Washington is in favour of the "earliest possible" meeting of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to review the Ryanair plane emergency landing.

"The United States once again condemns the Lukashenka regime's ongoing harassment and arbitrary detention of journalists. We stand with the Belarusian people in their aspirations for a free, democratic, and prosperous future and support their call for the regime to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms," he added.

The press service of the Minsk National Airport told Sputnik that a Ryanair flight en route from Athens to Vilnius (Lithuania) had to make an emergency landing in Minsk, Belarus over a bomb threat.

According to the Russian news agency, it was later reported that Roman Protasevich -- founder of a Telegram channel that Minsk designated as extremist - was detained during the stopover at the airport.

The plane was cleared for take-off from Minsk on Sunday evening and arrived in Vilnius at 18:27 GMT. Meanwhile, the Minsk airport stated that the decision to land in Belarus was made by the plane captain.

Meanwhile, EU leaders condemned the diversion of an Athens-Vilnius Ryanair flight to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and warned possible sanctions against Belarus in the EU summit scheduled on Monday.

"I condemn in the strongest possible terms the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk, Belarus, on 23 May 2021," said European Council President Charles Michel in a communique.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission has called for sanctions against those who are found responsible for the Ryanair plane emergency landing in Minsk and reiterated the EU position regarding the immediate release of Protasevich.

(ANI)

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