Lukashenko hides behind "air safety regulations" to justify the forced landing of the plane in Belarus

The Belarusian government stressed on Monday that it acted in line with international standards by forcing a flight between Greece and Lithuania to land to arrest an opposition journalist, amid criticism of Minsk for this action. Belarusian foreign minister, Anatoli Glaz, has said that “the rules of aviation security are an absolute priority” and added that “there is no doubt that the actions of the competent authorities were in line with the established international norms.” “Belarus always has acted responsibly, "he said, while promising" full transparency "and even" accept experts and show all materials "to dispel any doubts about Minsk's performance, according to statements published by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry on its website. In this sense, Glaz has criticized "openly bellicose" statements by some countries and that the situation "is deliberately politicized. ' In his opinion, "there is no apparent desire to understand it objectively." The Belarusian authorities forced a plane from the Irish airline Ryanair to land in order to apparently detain an exiled opposition journalist, Raman Protasevich. Minsk reportedly informed the crew of a bomb threat and even sent a fighter jet to force the commercial plane to land.