Speaker of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko, who is under EU sanctions, managed to attend a conference in Geneva after Italy and France granted permission for her plane to fly through their airspace.

Source: Bloomberg, citing informed sources, as reported by European Pravda

Details:According to the online flight-tracking service, Matviyenko’s plane flew over Türkiye and the Mediterranean Sea, then entered Italy before arriving in Geneva on Monday, and returned to Moscow on Wednesday via French and Italian airspace.

Bloomberg’s sources in Rome say Italy allowed Matviyenko’s plane to enter its airspace at the request of the Swiss government. They added that the Italian government consulted with the French authorities, who also received a request for overflight, before granting permission.

Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry, in response to Bloomberg’s inquiry, said that it can make exceptions to entry bans, "in particular, for flights carried out for humanitarian, medical, or diplomatic purposes".

The EU banned Russian aircraft from entering its airspace just days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Matviyenko led the Russian delegation to the World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments hosted by Geneva.

Background:

• Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said that Matviyenko's place is "in the dock, not at international conferences", and that her admission to Geneva "is disgraceful and should never have happened".
• During Matviyenko’s speech in Geneva, dozens of conference participants walked out in protest.

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