BERLIN, May 25. /TASS/. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she is ready to discuss the incident with the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Yesterday, we had no verified information about Russia’s role, so we refrained from saying anything on that matter. If I speak with the Russian president, obviously, this topic will be on the agenda," she said after the EU summit.

A Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight that took off from Athens was forced to make an emergency landing at Minsk International Airport on May 23 after a reported bomb threat. The plane was escorted to the Minsk airport by a MiG-29 fighter jet and landed safely. No bomb was found on board. Roman Protasevich, one of the co-founders of the Nexta Telegram channel, which was recognized as extremist in Belarus, was among the passengers. Protasevich, currently living in Lithuania and wanted in Belarus, was detained after the airliner had landed in the Belarusian capital. The plane left Minsk and continued on to Vilnius late on the same day.