Belarusian official: “I would like to emphasize that according to the transcript of communication between the air traffic control and the crew, Belarusian air traffic controllers did not pressure the Ryanair crew into making the decision. The crew made the decision on its own. The crew received all the necessary priority aid.”
source
https://eng.belta.by/society/view/no...l-140165-2021/
Of course, the excerpt presented by the Russian TV channel (above) and this official statement backs up the same line of defense: "No one forced them down, it was their own decision"... to reroute from 70 Km to home, to more than 200 km into hostile territory, I have to add.