WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th June, 2021) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed over the telephone the Ryanair incident and Belarusian affairs, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.
Belarus has been in the international spotlight after a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was diverted to Minsk over what Belarusian authorities say was a bomb threat that turned out to be false.
"The Prime Minister and the President... discussed the situation in Belarus following the forced landing of Ryanair Flight 4978 in Minsk under false pretenses and the subsequent arrest of journalist [Roman] Pratasevich," the PMO said in a readout of the conversation on Tuesday.
Belarus asserts that it alerted the flight crew to a bomb threat on board. Meanwhile, Western officials maintain that Protasevich, the founder of a Telegram channel which Minsk has designated as an extremist entity, was the target of the alleged staged grounding.
The Prime Minister also emphasized Canada's "unwavering support" for Ukraine's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and the two leaders discussed the ongoing civil conflict in the Donbas region, the readout said. Trudeau added that Canada continues to support Kiev's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
Furthermore, the two leaders discussed the latest developments concerning the downed Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 after a Canadian court ruled last month that Iran had deliberately downed the Ukrainian airliner - deeming the incident an act of terror under the Criminal Code of Canada.
