Russia accuses EU of risking passenger safety
Russia’s foreign ministry has condemned the EU’s call for Europe-based airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, calling it completely irresponsible.
Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting after Russia had denied entry to two airlines that planned to avoid Belarus, said passenger safety was at risk.
EU leaders had acted after Belarus forced a Ryanair plane to divert and land in the capital, Minsk.
A Belarusian dissident journalist and his girlfriend were then arrested.
Roman Protasevich and Sofia Sapega, who is a Russian citizen, are both in jail. A court on Friday rejected her appeal against a two-month detention.
The EU’s 27 leaders met this week and demanded their immediate release, as has the G7 group of nations.
No reason was given for Moscow’s decision to refuse access to flights from Air France and Austrian Airlines, but an Air France spokesperson said Russia’s requirement of a “new authorisation” was linked to the airline bypassing Belarusian airspace.
On Friday, Russia’s aviation authority allowed entry to several European airlines bypassing Belarus, including Austrian Airlines, although Air France did cancel another Paris-Moscow flight. The aviation agency warned that airlines that changed routes might have to await longer clearance times.
Russia is Belarus’s biggest ally and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko arrived in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday for talks with President Vladimir Putin.
It is their third meeting this year.
Up till now Alexander Lukashenko has been masterful at playing on the Kremlin’s fears and phobias of the West, presenting himself as Russia’s first line of defence against alleged external threats. Claiming – without proof – that Nato, the US, Europe are plotting to gobble up Belarus, and then move on to Russia.
But although the two men are political allies, close friends they are not. There have been plenty of squabbles in the past. For years Moscow has been irritated by Mr Lukashenko’s attempts to play Russia off against the West. The Kremlin views him as something of a loose cannon.
After the Ryanair jet drama and the arrest of two passengers, it’s unclear what message the leader of Russia will be sending to the leader of Belarus.
The foreign ministry spokeswoman denounced EU leaders for deciding to “redraw the routes of hundreds of flights in a single day, creating colossal problems for its citizens”.
Austria’s foreign ministry said Russia’s actions against the airline on Thursday had been “absolutely incomprehensible”.
On Friday, the rules were relaxed as Austrian Airlines flight OS601 from Vienna was given permission to land in Moscow,.
Further sanctions are still being assessed on officials in Mr Lukashenko’s government and Belarusian economic sectors in particular.
After meeting exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in The Hague, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it was time to target sectors “connected to the regime – and that is crucial because we have to hit these people in the wallet”.
Belarus will lose out on millions of dollars a year in over-flight fees as a result of European airlines avoiding its airspace.
The EU measures have also hit Belarus carrier Belavia, which has now cancelled 16 European routes.
The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford described lengthy queues outside Belavia offices in Minsk on Thursday as Belarusians scrambled to get ticket refunds.
In a separate move, the European Broadcasting Union said it was suspending Belarus state TV and radio, blaming suppression of media freedom. The company has two weeks to respond. Belarus was disqualified from this month’s Eurovision song contest, organised by the EBU, for lyrics seen as targeting anti-government protesters. www.bbc.com