Ambassador of Belarus to Bulgaria Summoned to Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Give Explanations on Air Piracy Incident

The diversion by Belarus of a Ryanair flight to a forced landing in Minsk was air piracy, Bulgaria's caretaker Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev said on May 25.

Belarus authorities diverted a Greece-Lithuania flight on May 23 to the airport in the country's capital city and arrested journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, actions that have led to widespread condemnation.

Stoev said that in addition to the forced landing of the aircraft, the question arose about the personal data of the passengers.

"How are these personal data obtained, how are they provided to the relevant services, who has the right to hold them and, accordingly, if this becomes a practice, we face new challenges in air transport," he said.

The ambassador of Belarus in Sofia, Alexander Lukashevich, was summoned to a meeting on May 25 at 9am with the head of the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry's bilateral relations directorate, Vasily Takev.

Lukashevich was asked for explanations regarding the forced landing of the Ryanair flight and the arrest of Protasevich.

The explanations he presented were not accepted by Bulgaria, the Foreign Ministry said.

Bulgaria supports the request for an immediate and swift investigation of the case by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The actions of the Belarusian authorities were described as absolutely unacceptable and "a gross violation of the rules of international aviation and flagrant disregard for the fundamental rights and freedoms of passengers," the ministry said.

Lukashevich was repeatedly told at the meeting that Bulgaria wanted Protasevich released and a careful assessment of the negative consequences for Belarus' relations with the EU.

The ambassador...