“Greece condemns in the strongest possible terms the act of state hijacking that took place today and resulted in the forced landing of the Athens-Vilnius flight Ryanair FR 4978 in Minsk, Belarus“, States the new announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and adds:
“The plane was carrying a total of 171 passengers, 11 of whom are Greek citizens. This act, which endangered the lives of all passengers, is unacceptable.
We call for the immediate release of the aircraft and all passengers in order to reach their final destination.
We condemn the illegal arrest of Roman activist Roman Protasevich, who is facing the death penalty.
Mr Protasevich was part of a delegation led by Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who recently attended the Delphi Forum.
For Greece, defending fundamental values ​​such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights is a matter of principle.
We believe that similar practices, which refer to other times and which are not appropriate for any civilized state, should not go unanswered.
The Greek side is in close coordination with the other EU Member States and expects that this issue will be thoroughly addressed at the forthcoming European Council.
Earlier, the Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement:
“The Foreign Ministry is in constant contact with the relevant services and the European partners regarding the aircraft that was operating the Athens-Vilnius route and made an emergency landing in Minsk,” the Foreign Ministry said in a twitter post.
“Our primary concern is the safety of all passengers,” he adds.

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