The sanctions against the Belavia company in Minsk were considered an attempt to strangle it and take over the market. This was stated by the director of the Aviation Department of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic Artem Sikorsky.
“There is a process of strangulation. These sanctions, let’s face it, are a raider takeover of the market and the business of the airline, which did not participate in these events at all, “ he said, referring to the emergency landing of the Ryanair flight.
Earlier, several European countries imposed restrictions on flights over Belarus and banned Belavia from flying to their territory after the incident with the Ryanair plane at the Minsk airport on May 23, following which Roman Protasevich, an opposition leader and the creator of the NEXTA Telegram channel, was detained. In Belarus, he is accused of creating an extremist group and calling for mass riots after the presidential elections in August 2020.
Later, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Belarus promised to appeal to the International Civil Aviation Organization to achieve the lifting of restrictions on flights of its airlines to Europe and the use of airspace by other countries.
