Belarus not a priory issue on Geneva summit agenda, stances impossible to reconcile – Peskov
<p> MINSK, Jun 17 - PrimePress. Moscow and Washington don’t see eye to eye on Belarus, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after the Russian and US leaders’ summit in Geneva in June 16. </p> <p> </p> <p> “Certainly, there are differences on Belarus," the Kremlin spokesman told the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Thursday. Meanwhile, Belarus is not at all among the priorities that were on the Geneva summit’s agenda. </p> <p> </p> <p> According to Peskov, the US voiced its stance on the Belarusian issue “in the well-known way”. “We are aware of the Americans’ stance, this is the issue of [the Ryanair] flight, they believe this is an unacceptable violation. But we have our own opinion, we have information obtained from the origin - from Belarusian President [Alexander Lukashenko] and President Putin has no reasons not to trust his Belarusian counterpart,” he explained. </p> <p> </p> <p> At the Geneva summit, the sides stated that the Belarusian issue could hardly bring closer their positions as "this is impossible." </p> <p> </p> <p> On May 23, a Vilnius-bound Ryanair plane that took off from Athens made an emergency landing at Minsk International Airport after a reported bomb threat. A MiG-29 fighter jet alert crew was scrambled to escort the plane. After the landing, the plane was inspected and no bomb was found on board. The Belarusian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into a false bomb alert. Among the passengers on that flight was Roman Protasevich, one of the co-founders of the Nexta Telegram channel recognized as extremist in Belarus. He is charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus and is on the international wanted list. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will conduct an official investigation into the incident. </p> <p> </p> <p> A number of countries have closed their airspace for Belarusian air carriers and prohibited their airlines to fly over Belarus. </p> <p> </p> <p> On June 4, the European Union (EU) officially banned all Belarusian air carriers to use its airspace and airports. The ban does not apply to humanitarian flights, as well as emergency landings and emergency overflights. </p> <p> </p> <p> Western countries did not recognize the August 2020 presidential election as free and democratic, and Alexander Lukashenko as the elected president. The European Union (EU), Great Britain, the USA and Canada imposed political and economic sanctions against a number of Belarusian officials and companies loyal to the current government. End </p>
2021-06-18
Primepress
Belarus not a priory issue on Geneva summit agenda, stances impossible to reconcile – Peskov
MINSK, Jun 17 - PrimePress. Moscow and Washington don’t see eye to eye on Belarus, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after the Russian and US leaders’ summit in Geneva in June 16.
“Certainly, there are differences on Belarus," the Kremlin spokesman told the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Thursday. Meanwhile, Belarus is not at all among the priorities that were on the Geneva summit’s agenda.
According to Peskov, the US voiced its stance on the Belarusian issue “in the well-known way”. “We are aware of the Americans’ stance, this is the issue of [the Ryanair] flight, they believe this is an unacceptable violation. But we have our own opinion, we have information obtained from the origin - from Belarusian President [Alexander Lukashenko] and President Putin has no reasons not to trust his Belarusian counterpart,” he explained.
At the Geneva summit, the sides stated that the Belarusian issue could hardly bring closer their positions as "this is impossible."
On May 23, a Vilnius-bound Ryanair plane that took off from Athens made an emergency landing at Minsk International Airport after a reported bomb threat. A MiG-29 fighter jet alert crew was scrambled to escort the plane. After the landing, the plane was inspected and no bomb was found on board. The Belarusian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into a false bomb alert. Among the passengers on that flight was Roman Protasevich, one of the co-founders of the Nexta Telegram channel recognized as extremist in Belarus. He is charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus and is on the international wanted list. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will conduct an official investigation into the incident.
A number of countries have closed their airspace for Belarusian air carriers and prohibited their airlines to fly over Belarus.
On June 4, the European Union (EU) officially banned all Belarusian air carriers to use its airspace and airports. The ban does not apply to humanitarian flights, as well as emergency landings and emergency overflights.
Western countries did not recognize the August 2020 presidential election as free and democratic, and Alexander Lukashenko as the elected president. The European Union (EU), Great Britain, the USA and Canada imposed political and economic sanctions against a number of Belarusian officials and companies loyal to the current government. End