"We need to stop any aircraft overflying Belarus," Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat told Times Radio. The plane was suddenly diverted to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where authorities detained journalist Roman Protasevich. Lithuania's foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said he discussed the Ryanair plane diversion with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Reeker, urging a strong response from the West. ON LUKASHENKO'S ORDERSBelarusian news agency BelTA reported that Lukashenko had personally ordered the warplane to escort the Ryanair plane to Minsk. "I call on NATO and EU allies to immediately react to the threat posed to international civil aviation by the Belarus regime," he said.

Source: The Star May 24, 2021 06:22 UTC