Mitsotakis το FT: “Clear and severe consequences for Belarus”

“European leaders must agree at the summit that there will be clear and tough consequences that will leave no room for Belarus to question our unity and determination,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the Financial Times. referring to the arrest of journalist Roman Protasevic in Minsk after the forced landing of the Ryanair flight he was on that had departed from Athens.

Speaking in the Europe Express column ahead of today’s and tomorrow’s European Council meeting in Brussels, the prime minister stressed that the EU’s failure to show a united front on foreign affairs should not be repeated in the event of “unacceptable aggression” by Belarus.

“The forced landing of a passenger plane with the aim of illegally detaining a political opponent and a journalist is absolutely reprehensible and constitutes an unacceptable offensive action that cannot be tolerated,” the Prime Minister said, noting that in this case there must be consequences. since as a Union of principles we can not accept anything else “. “Enoughis enough,” he emphasized.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis cited the recent crisis in Israel and the Gaza Strip as an example of the EU not achieving a united stance. “Our inability to adopt a common position on what has recently happened in Israel and Gaza – where as the European Union we have not been able to present a single line – must not be repeated,” he said.