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| - Italy on Monday summoned Belarus' top diplomat in Rome to complain about the "inadmissible" forced landing of a civilian airliner that allowed Minsk to arrest a wanted opposition activist. The move echoed similar action taken by Germany, Britain, Belgium and the European Union following growing international outrage at Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's regime. Journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend were detained at Minsk airport on Sunday after Ryanair flight FR4978 was diverted from its Athens-to-Vilnius route, after what Belarus alleged was a bomb threat. The charge d'affaires at the Belarusian embassy, Dmitry Yarmolyuk, was called for urgent talks with deputy foreign minister Benedetto Dalla Vedova, the Italian foreign ministry said. The "inadmissible act ... constitutes a very serious violation of international aviation safety standards for which Belarus will be held accountable," Dalla Vedova told the Belarusian envoy. He said Italy was discussing with EU partners a response "proportionate to the seriousness of the incident," and called for the "immediate release" of the detained journalist and of his partner. EU leaders meeting Monday in Brussels were expected to debate further sanctions on Belarus, which has been shaken by unprecedented mass protests since a disputed election last year extended Lukashenko's hold on power. Earlier Monday, Italy's foreign minister Luigi Di Maio called the plane diversion a "state hijacking" and said he expected the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, to discuss the matter with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. "It is clear that this is not only a European question but a question of the alliance of values that we share with many of our allies, including overseas," Di Maio added. Authorities in Belarus on Monday insisted they acted legally, and accused the West of making unfounded claims for political reasons. ljm-ar-aa/ams/ach
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