French President Francois Hollande today said he had opened his country's airspace to the Bolivian presidential jet as soon as he knew head of state Evo Morales was aboard.
"There was conflicting information about the passengers who were on board," Hollande said in Berlin. "When I knew it was the plane of the Bolivian president, I immediately gave permission for it to fly" over French territory.
The flight from Moscow was diverted late yesterday to Vienna on suspicion it was harbouring fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, sparking a row between La Paz and several European countries, including France.
