Belarus President Defends Plane Diversion, Defying Pressure From West

“We responded sufficiently to the information and facts obtained,” Mr. Lukashenko stated in a speech to parliamentarians on Wednesday, his to start with feedback since the Sunday incident. “How would the United States respond in these kinds of a problem in watch of their sad knowledge?”

European Union and U.S. leaders have been swift to condemn the compelled landing of the airplane, which was carrying dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, who was afterwards arrested. On Monday, they agreed to impose a new spherical of sanctions on Belarus and ban its airways from moving into the bloc’s airspace and airports.

Western leaders have demanded the release of Mr. Protasevich, who grew to become one of the guide actors powering a wave of antigovernment protests previous calendar year in the wake of Belarus’s August presidential election. Mr. Lukashenko claimed to have gained in a landslide, but Western officials stated the vote was neither absolutely free nor honest. Opponents have been demanding the resignation of the Belarusian chief, who has been in electrical power since 1994.

“As we predicted, our unwell-wishers from outdoors and within the region have altered the methods of attacking the condition,” Mr. Lukashenko stated. “They crossed the boundaries of frequent perception and human morality.”

He extra, “No quicker had the airplane landed in Minsk, carbon-duplicate accusations from the West and flight bans started pouring in.”

Belarusian authorities in November set Mr. Protasevich on a checklist of folks involved in terrorist actions. They also started quite a few prison circumstances from him for arranging illegal protests and disrupting social order. Mr. Protasevich has stated he regards the allegations as political repression. But the day following he was detained in Minsk, a video clip circulated on numerous Belarusian social-media accounts, which include the opposition’s, confirmed him saying he was in a pretrial detention facility in the Belarusian funds and confessing to arranging mass riots.

His supporters and mothers and fathers stated they imagine his feedback have been coerced.

The plane’s grounding has elevated questions over legality. U.K. Overseas Secretary

Dominic Raab

condemned the move as “a shocking assault on civil aviation and an assault on international legislation,” which “represents a hazard to civilian flights everywhere.”

Mr. Lukashenko stated, “The condition that will not succumb to hybrid force can survive. I attraction to the complete planet group: There is no issue in shaking Belarus.”

Belarusian opposition chief

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya,

who lives in exile in Lithuania, stated Wednesday that a new phase of energetic antigovernment protests have been remaining well prepared.

“There is absolutely nothing much more to hold out for—terror need to be stopped after and for all,” she stated in a statement.

Mr. Lukashenko’s feedback pertaining to the flight diversion arrived a day following Belarusian aviation authorities released a transcript indicating that the

Ryanair

Holdings PLC pilot consistently questioned air-visitors controllers about their request to reroute the airplane to Minsk. The back-and-forth between the cockpit and ground handle proposed the pilots sought clarity on diverting to Minsk, since the airplane was now nearing the Lithuanian funds of Vilnius, its remaining destination.

Mr. Lukashenko stated that the Ryanair crew consulted with the entrepreneurs of the airplane and the airport in Vilnius, but made a decision to land in Minsk.

A spokeswoman for Lithuania’s air-visitors handle company, Oro Navigacija, stated on Tuesday that the crew didn’t make contact with the company. It is unclear from the transcript that Belarus released no matter whether the crew was equipped to talk with Ryanair.

The Ireland-dependent airline declined to comment on Mr. Lukashenko’s remarks.

The Irish governing administration will increase the concern with the United Nations Stability Council afterwards Wednesday, an Irish formal stated. Irish Prime Minister

Micheál Martin

earlier this 7 days known as the compelled landing of the aircraft a “hijacking.”

The Belarusian chief stated that a jet fighter dispatched by the Belarus air force was not meant to intimidate the crew.

“Forcing the liner to land by a MiG-29 fighter is an complete lie,” Mr. Lukashenko stated. “The process of the fighter is to offer communication and consider out a passenger airplane for landing in circumstance of a critical problem.”

Mr. Lukashenko also stated that the purported warning about a bomb on the airplane, which was traveling from Athens, arrived from Switzerland.

Switzerland’s Federal Department of Overseas Affairs stated that Swiss authorities had no awareness of a bomb threat on the flight and have not been in touch with Belarus on the matter.

Belarus had earlier stated it had obtained correspondence from Hamas, the militant team that governs the Gaza Strip, that a bomb on board was established to detonate over Vilnius. Hamas has not responded to requests for comment.

“Hamas or no Hamas—it doesn’t matter now,” Mr. Lukashenko stated. “I acted legally, preserving folks, in accordance with all international policies.”

—Max Colchester contributed to this report.

Write to Georgi Kantchev at [email protected] and Ann M. Simmons at [email protected]