European leaders have decided that Belarusian airlines should be banned from flying to the EU

A statement issued at the EU summit in Brussels says the European Council “strongly condemns the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk on May 23, 2021 as a threat to aviation security” as well as the ” Arrest of journalists Raman Pratasevic and Sofia Sapega by the Belarusian authorities, he also stated that the Community should consider new specific economic sanctions against the Minsk regime as soon as possible.

EU leaders demanded that the two detainees, who flew from Athens to Vilnius, be “released immediately and that their freedom of movement be guaranteed,” the report says.

They also called on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to urgently investigate this “unacceptable and unprecedented incident.”

All EU-based airlines are urged to avoid flying in Belarusian airspace, the leaders said in a statement.

Furthermore, the EU Council is called to “take the necessary measures to prohibit Belarusian airlines from operating in EU airspace and to block access to EU airports for flights served by such airlines.”

EU leaders expressed their solidarity with Latvia after Belarus decided to expel almost the entire Baltic embassy in Minsk following an incident in Riga, when the official Belarusian flag was replaced by the historic red and white Belarusian flag.