Belarus’ embassy in London discussing prospects of resuming Belavia flights with UK govt
<p> MINSK, Dec 29 - PrimePress. The Belarusian embassy in Great Britain is discussing with the authorities of that country the possibility of resuming flights of the Belarusian company Belavia, which is currently under Western sanctions, said Belarusian Ambassador Maxim Yermolovich. </p> <p> </p> <p> “We are doing this work, together with qualified specialists here in the UK. We interact both with Belavia and the law firms that represent the interests of the carrier in the UK and try to get through to the representatives of the UK government bodies to convey an objective position on the Belarusian air carrier,” the RIA Novosti news agency reported citing Yermolovich as saying. </p> <p> </p> <p> Following the Ryanair incident in May 2021 Britain banned Belavia aircraft from entering UK airspace without special permission. </p> <p> </p> <p> “We will try to resume this work through the UK Foreign Office and the Department for Transport after the Christmas break in Britain. Lifting restrictions on air travel would provide an opportunity to continue work in other areas. The government of Belarus has decided to carry out a full-scale constitutional reform and change the political system in the country, so we expect an adequate response from the Western countries, including the United Kingdom, and would like to start discussing practical issues, which include the removal of all economic restrictions, including in relation to Belavia,” said Yermolovich. </p> <p> </p> <p> On May 23, a Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight that took off from Athens was forced to make an emergency landing in the Belarusian capital of Minsk after a reported bomb threat. A Mikoyan MiG-29 jet was scrambled to escort the plane into Minsk. The bomb threat came up empty after the aircraft had landed. The Belarusian authorities specified later that Roman Protasevich, wanted in Belarus as a co-founder of the Nexta Telegram channel, which the Belarusian authorities recognized as extremist, had been among the flight’s passengers. He was detained by Belarusian law enforcement agents. Following the incident, the European Union barred Belarusian air companies from operating flights to EU airports and using the European Union’s airspace, and recommended that European air carriers should avoid Belarusian airspace. </p> <p> </p> <p> As previously reported, after the August 2020 presidential election in Belarus a political crisis began. The EU, UK, US and Canada has been gradually imposing sanctions against Belarusian officials as well as individual businesses, accusing Minsk of election rigging and abuse of human rights. Western countries adopted sectoral sanctions targeting Belarus’ potash, financial, petrochemical and tobacco industries. The EU sanctions packages include Belavia airline and the navigation service company Belaeronavigatsia. End </p> <p> </p>
2021-12-30
Primepress
Belarus’ embassy in London discussing prospects of resuming Belavia flights with UK govt
MINSK, Dec 29 - PrimePress. The Belarusian embassy in Great Britain is discussing with the authorities of that country the possibility of resuming flights of the Belarusian company Belavia, which is currently under Western sanctions, said Belarusian Ambassador Maxim Yermolovich.
“We are doing this work, together with qualified specialists here in the UK. We interact both with Belavia and the law firms that represent the interests of the carrier in the UK and try to get through to the representatives of the UK government bodies to convey an objective position on the Belarusian air carrier,” the RIA Novosti news agency reported citing Yermolovich as saying.
Following the Ryanair incident in May 2021 Britain banned Belavia aircraft from entering UK airspace without special permission.
“We will try to resume this work through the UK Foreign Office and the Department for Transport after the Christmas break in Britain. Lifting restrictions on air travel would provide an opportunity to continue work in other areas. The government of Belarus has decided to carry out a full-scale constitutional reform and change the political system in the country, so we expect an adequate response from the Western countries, including the United Kingdom, and would like to start discussing practical issues, which include the removal of all economic restrictions, including in relation to Belavia,” said Yermolovich.
On May 23, a Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight that took off from Athens was forced to make an emergency landing in the Belarusian capital of Minsk after a reported bomb threat. A Mikoyan MiG-29 jet was scrambled to escort the plane into Minsk. The bomb threat came up empty after the aircraft had landed. The Belarusian authorities specified later that Roman Protasevich, wanted in Belarus as a co-founder of the Nexta Telegram channel, which the Belarusian authorities recognized as extremist, had been among the flight’s passengers. He was detained by Belarusian law enforcement agents. Following the incident, the European Union barred Belarusian air companies from operating flights to EU airports and using the European Union’s airspace, and recommended that European air carriers should avoid Belarusian airspace.
As previously reported, after the August 2020 presidential election in Belarus a political crisis began. The EU, UK, US and Canada has been gradually imposing sanctions against Belarusian officials as well as individual businesses, accusing Minsk of election rigging and abuse of human rights. Western countries adopted sectoral sanctions targeting Belarus’ potash, financial, petrochemical and tobacco industries. The EU sanctions packages include Belavia airline and the navigation service company Belaeronavigatsia. End