Try RussiaTo force European airlines to travel through Belarus? She wants that European Union Make sure now. This is based on the assumption that Russia willfully refuse to allow planes to land if the planes do not want to cross Belarusian airspace. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign affairs representative, said it was unclear whether Russia was deciding on a case-by-case basis or as a “general approach”.
He said there were actually “a few cases” of European aircraft being refused landing or taking off. With Russia there is always a risk of escalation. “
Several flights have been canceled
France’s airline, Air France, had to cancel a flight from Paris to Moscow on Wednesday because Russia did not agree to change course to avoid Belarusian airspace. For the same reason, the Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Moscow was canceled on Thursday. On Friday there was another flight from Affected by Air France to Moscow.
The Kremlin stated that the reason for canceling the Moscow trips was purely “technical” in nature. The spokesman, Dmitriy Pesko, said it was primarily a matter of “ensuring air traffic control”.
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry had announced earlier that the closure of Belarusian airspace to European airlines was “irresponsible” and endangered the safety of passengers. Changing the route of hundreds of flights would create “enormous problems for the citizens”.
Amid global outrage over the emergency landing of a Ryanair plane, Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet the governor of Belarus on Friday. Alexander Lukashenko In Sochi. Putin is the latest strong ally of the Minsk governor, who brutally suppressed anti-government protests last year.