On Monday, May 24, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid held a video meeting with the Latvian and Lithuanian heads of state Egils Levits and Gitanas Nausėda following the hijacking incident in Belarus. According the press-service of the president of Estonia, the leaders discussed joint steps to be taken in order to place pressure on Belarus within the framework of both the European Union and the United Nations.
The Baltic presidents are calling for those abducted to be released, for the closure of Belarusian airspace and for effective sanctions to be implemented.
“An undisguised act of terrorism perpetrated by the state – a hijacking – is a new weapon in the arsenal of even the most seasoned dictator,” President Kaljulaid remarked after the meeting. “It is time for the rest of the world to stop treating the Belarusian regime with kid gloves. We must utilise all of the peaceful means at our disposal to place pressure on it. Yesterday’s incident, which placed the lives of 171 passengers in danger and which resulted in at least two individuals being abducted from the aircraft, must not go unpunished.”
The Presidents demanded the release of the passengers, the termination of all flight connections with Belarus and the introduction of “powerful and effective” sanctions against the Belarusian regime.
It's worth noting that the incident with a Ryanair plane took place on Sunday. After a plane took off from Athens destined for Vilnius, it was forced by the Belarusian authorities to turn back prior to crossing the Lithuanian border and make an emergency landing in Minsk. Following the landing, one of the passengers, Belarusian opposition activist and journalist Raman Pratasevich, was detained.
There were 171 passengers on board of the flight, more than half of whom were from Lithuania. Among the other passengers were citizens of Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Georgia, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain and Syria.
It should be noted that Lithuania has terminated its flight connection with Belarus.