Forced landing of plane by Belarus was "unprecedented, shocking" - Greek PM

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday the forced landing of a Ryanair plane by Belarus to detain a journalist was an "unprecedented and shocking" act. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a warplane on Sunday to force a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania to land on Sunday in Minsk.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday the forced landing of a Ryanair plane by Belarus to detain a journalist was an "unprecedented and shocking" act.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered a warplane on Sunday to force a Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania to land on Sunday in Minsk. A Belarusian opposition activist on board was detained. "We demand all passengers' immediate release ... Enough is enough," Mitsotakis said in a tweet.

Separately, Greece's foreign ministry condemned what it called a "state hijacking" and forced landing of Ryanair flight 4978 which was headed to Vilnius from Athens to Minsk in Belarus. It said the plane carried 171 passengers, 11 of which were Greek citizens.

"This act which placed passengers' lives in danger is unacceptable," it said, calling for the immediate release of the plane and all of its passengers. "Such practices ... are not in line with any civilised state and cannot stay unanswered," the ministry said in a statement.