Tweet
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Oct 15 2012
Armenian plane en route to Aleppo searched in Turkey
15 October 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN WITH REUTERS, Ä°STANBUL
Turkey grounded an Armenian plane flying to the Syrian city of Aleppo
and searched its cargo on Monday, in the latest move to prevent its
airspace from being used to supply the Syrian military.
The plane was allowed to continue on its way after the search in the
eastern Turkish city of Erzurum confirmed it was carrying humanitarian
aid as stated by Armenian officials, a Turkish deputy prime minister
said.
Last Wednesday Turkey forced a Syrian airliner to land that had come
from Moscow and officials reported finding Russian munitions on board
destined for Syria's armed forces.
NATO member Turkey has become increasingly assertive in challenging
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the face of growing tensions along
the border and banned all Syrian aircraft from its airspace in the
wake of that incident.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said the plane was given
the all clear and allowed to continue on its journey.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Turkey has the sovereign right under
the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation to require
planes crossing its airspace to make a "technical landing" but did not
say whether this right would be exercised again in the future.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu said later in the day that
according to preliminary inspections, the plane was not carrying any
cargo except humanitarian aid supplies.
DavutoÄ?lu, who is attending the 20th Meeting of the Council of
Ministers (COM) of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in
Azerbaijan, told journalists that on Oct. 10, Armenia requested the
use of Turkish airspace to take humanitarian aid to Aleppo. He said
Turkey had granted permission only on the condition that the plane
would make a "technical landing" in Erzurum, a request in keeping with
international aviation law.
Armenia confirmed it had known the plane would be searched.
"The landing of the airplane in Turkey was planned and it was carried
out according to a previously reached agreement. The airplane is
delivering humanitarian aid to Syria," Armenian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Tigran Balayan said.
Last week's decision to force down and search the Syrian plane
traveling from Russia infuriated Moscow and Damascus.
Russia has said there were no weapons on the plane and that it was
carrying a legal cargo of radar equipment. But Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov later said the incident would not hurt the country's "solid"
relations with Turkey.
"I assure you, nobody should worry about the state of Russian-Turkish
relations," state-run Russian news agency RIA quoted Sergei Lavrov as
saying in Luxembourg on Sunday. "They are developing on a stable and
solid foundation," he said.
DavutoÄ?lu said over the weekend that Turkish airspace had been closed
to Syrian planes. Syria has also banned Turkish planes from flying
over its territory.
The confrontation between Turkey and Syria has escalated in the last
two weeks because of cross-border shelling, with Ankara retaliating
after five Turkish civilians were killed when a Syrian shell hit a
Turkish border town.
Oct 15 2012
Armenian plane en route to Aleppo searched in Turkey
15 October 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN WITH REUTERS, Ä°STANBUL
Turkey grounded an Armenian plane flying to the Syrian city of Aleppo
and searched its cargo on Monday, in the latest move to prevent its
airspace from being used to supply the Syrian military.
The plane was allowed to continue on its way after the search in the
eastern Turkish city of Erzurum confirmed it was carrying humanitarian
aid as stated by Armenian officials, a Turkish deputy prime minister
said.
Last Wednesday Turkey forced a Syrian airliner to land that had come
from Moscow and officials reported finding Russian munitions on board
destined for Syria's armed forces.
NATO member Turkey has become increasingly assertive in challenging
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the face of growing tensions along
the border and banned all Syrian aircraft from its airspace in the
wake of that incident.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said the plane was given
the all clear and allowed to continue on its journey.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Turkey has the sovereign right under
the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation to require
planes crossing its airspace to make a "technical landing" but did not
say whether this right would be exercised again in the future.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄ?lu said later in the day that
according to preliminary inspections, the plane was not carrying any
cargo except humanitarian aid supplies.
DavutoÄ?lu, who is attending the 20th Meeting of the Council of
Ministers (COM) of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in
Azerbaijan, told journalists that on Oct. 10, Armenia requested the
use of Turkish airspace to take humanitarian aid to Aleppo. He said
Turkey had granted permission only on the condition that the plane
would make a "technical landing" in Erzurum, a request in keeping with
international aviation law.
Armenia confirmed it had known the plane would be searched.
"The landing of the airplane in Turkey was planned and it was carried
out according to a previously reached agreement. The airplane is
delivering humanitarian aid to Syria," Armenian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Tigran Balayan said.
Last week's decision to force down and search the Syrian plane
traveling from Russia infuriated Moscow and Damascus.
Russia has said there were no weapons on the plane and that it was
carrying a legal cargo of radar equipment. But Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov later said the incident would not hurt the country's "solid"
relations with Turkey.
"I assure you, nobody should worry about the state of Russian-Turkish
relations," state-run Russian news agency RIA quoted Sergei Lavrov as
saying in Luxembourg on Sunday. "They are developing on a stable and
solid foundation," he said.
DavutoÄ?lu said over the weekend that Turkish airspace had been closed
to Syrian planes. Syria has also banned Turkish planes from flying
over its territory.
The confrontation between Turkey and Syria has escalated in the last
two weeks because of cross-border shelling, with Ankara retaliating
after five Turkish civilians were killed when a Syrian shell hit a
Turkish border town.