BUENOS-AIRES, July 17 (RIA Novosti) - Authorities of Italy and Portugal apologized for an incident involving Bolivia’s presidential aircraft, which was grounded in Europe earlier this month, Bolivia’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
The aircraft carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales had been in the air for over three hours after taking off from Moscow in early July, when France, Spain, Portugal and some other European countries announced the closure of their airspace to it. The plane landed in the Austrian capital Vienna, but was later allowed to fly on to Bolivia.
“It was not only Spain, which sent us a letter with excuses, but Italy and Spain as well,” Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said, adding that the ministry will consider the letters on Wednesday and will give a reply later.
France and Spain already apologized to Bolivia for closing its airspace to Morales.
The incident provoked a diplomatic scandal: the leaders of Bolivia and other South American nations demanded explanations.
