Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko says he acted 'lawfully' by diverting Ryanair plane

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on May 26 said that he acted “lawfully” to protect people by diverting the Ryanair flight over the country’s airspace. Ryanair Flight 4978 on Sunday was on its way over to Lithuania from Greece when the crew onboard received an alarming message about a potential bomb in the plane. A MiG-29 fighter jet was immediately sent to escort it to Belarus' capital, Minsk, and on landing, it quickly became clear that there was no bomb on board; instead, a wanted opposition activist, Roman Protasveich, who was on the same flight, was detained along with his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega. 

According to Belta state-run news agency, while addressing the member of parliament, Lukashenko said that he “acted lawfully to protect our people”. In reference to the global condemnation, he said that the “attacks” on his country had crossed “red lines”. Further, the Belarusian President added that as he predicted, ill-wishers in Belarus and abroad have changed their methods of attacking the state. 

“They have crossed many red lines and crossed boundaries of common sense and human morality,” Lukashenko said. Further, the leader said that it was an “absolute lie” that a MiG-29 fighter jet forced the flight to land in Minsk. 

Int’l reaction over ‘hijacking’ 

Meanwhile, the forced landing and abdication have set off shockwaves across countries. The EU member states have agreed to cut the bloc’s air links with Belarus and have strongly condemned the “outrageous actions” that endangered aviation safety. US President Joe Biden said that Belarus' forced diversion of a commercial Ryanair flight and subsequent removal and arrest of Raman Protasevich, a Belarusian journalist travelling abroad are a direct affront to international norms. He welcomed the EU’s call for sanctions against Belarus and instructed his administration to curate options to hold Minsk responsible. 

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), on the other hand, said that it was “strongly concerned” by the forced landing of Ryanair flight FR4978 in Belarus. The UN aviation agency said that Belarus' actions are in violation of existing treaties. The International Air Transport Association also “strongly” condemned the incident and called for a full investigation by authorities. However, it is imperative to note that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on Monday, defended Belarus' use of military jet to divert passenger plane.

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