BRUSSELS, May 23. /TASS/. The European Union is concerned over the incident with the landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk and calls on the Belarusian authorities to immediately let all the passengers continue their travels, European Council President Charles Michel said on Sunday.
"Very concerned regarding reports of a forced landing of Ryanair flight in Minsk. We call on Belarus authorities to immediately release the flight and all its passengers. An ICAO investigation of the incident will be essential," he wrote on his Twitter account.
Presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen and David Sassoli, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the incident as inadmissible.
"It is utterly unacceptable to force Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius to land in Minsk. All passengers must be able to continue their travel to Vilnius immediately and their safety ensured. Any violation of international air transport rules must bear consequences," von der Leyen wrote on her Twitter account.
"We hold the government of Belarus responsible for the security of all passengers and the aircraft. ALL passengers must be able to continue their travel immediately," Borrell tweeted.
"Closely following reports of forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk and the alleged arrest of activist and journalist Roman Protasevich. We need immediate explanations, and he must be released. All 171 passengers and the flight need to be released without delay," Sassoli wrote.
The Ryanair plane flying from Athens to Vilnius made an emergency landing at Minsk’s airport after the pilots had reported a bomb threat. The plane landed safely. No bomb was found inside.
It was reported after the plane’s landing that former editor-in-chief of the Nexta Telegram channel, which had been recognized as extremist in Belarus, Romat Protasevich, was among the passengers. The man was detained.
Meanwhile, Lina Beisiene, a spokeswoman for Lietuvos oro uostai the operator of Lithuanian airports, said on Sunday that Lithuania’s aviation authorities had no information about any bombs onboard the plane. She said that the plane had made an emergency landing because of a conflict between a passenger and a crewmember. However, she disclosed no details.