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NowLebanon
Oct 15 012
Turkey orders Armenian plane bound for Syria to land for security check
October 15, 2012 share
An Armenian plane en route to Syria's battered second city of Aleppo
was ordered to land in Turkey Monday for security checks on its cargo,
an Ankara Foreign Ministry official said.
Armenia said the landing of the plane, which both countries said was
carrying humanitarian aid, was pre-planned.
The move came just days after Turkey compelled a Syrian plane flying
in from Russia to land on its territory because of what it called
suspect cargo.
On Monday, "the civilian plane carrying humanitarian aid from Armenia
to Aleppo asked for permission to use Turkish airspace," the official
said on condition of anonymity.
"We gave the permission on condition that the plane makes a technical
landing and it will take off if the cargo is clear after security
checks," the Turkish official told AFP.
The Armenian plane was intercepted by Turkish fighter jets, the
Milliyet newspaper reported on its website.
Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said the landing referred to "a
landing by pilot's consent," in remarks carried by the Anatolia news
agency.
Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tigran Balaian told AFP that
"the plane, which was carrying humanitarian cargo to Syria, made a
pre-planned landing in Turkey. The landing in Turkey was previously
agreed with the Turkish side."
The aid was being sent to Syria as part of an Armenian campaign called
"Help a Brother," one of its organizers said.
"The humanitarian cargo included foodstuffs like buckwheat, rice,
sugar, pasta and so on," campaign organizer Vahan Hovannisian, a
lawmaker from the nationalist Dashnaktsutiun party, told AFP.
There is a small Armenian community in Syria - between 60,000 and
100,000 people, according to estimates - most of whom live in Aleppo.
Since the conflict began, several thousand have fled to Armenia amid
fears that Christians could suffer if President Bashar al-Assad is
ousted and replaced by an Islamic regime.
Armenia also has close ties with Syria's major ally Russia.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations and their border has
been closed for more than a decade.
Turkish-Armenian ties have been complicated by disputes including
Armenian lobbying for recognition of 1915 killings of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks as genocide, and Armenia's invasion of the Azerbaijani
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Monday's landing comes after Turkey and Syria closed their airspaces
to each other's civilian flights at the weekend.
Ankara has taken an increasingly strident line towards the regime in
Damascus since a shell fired from the Syrian side of the border killed
five Turkish civilians on October 3.
Last Wednesday, Ankara forced a Syrian passenger plane en route from
Mosow to Damascus to land in the Turkish capital because it was
believed to be carrying suspect cargo.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the cargo contained military
equipment for the Syrian Defense Ministry.
-AFP
http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=446544
Oct 15 012
Turkey orders Armenian plane bound for Syria to land for security check
October 15, 2012 share
An Armenian plane en route to Syria's battered second city of Aleppo
was ordered to land in Turkey Monday for security checks on its cargo,
an Ankara Foreign Ministry official said.
Armenia said the landing of the plane, which both countries said was
carrying humanitarian aid, was pre-planned.
The move came just days after Turkey compelled a Syrian plane flying
in from Russia to land on its territory because of what it called
suspect cargo.
On Monday, "the civilian plane carrying humanitarian aid from Armenia
to Aleppo asked for permission to use Turkish airspace," the official
said on condition of anonymity.
"We gave the permission on condition that the plane makes a technical
landing and it will take off if the cargo is clear after security
checks," the Turkish official told AFP.
The Armenian plane was intercepted by Turkish fighter jets, the
Milliyet newspaper reported on its website.
Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said the landing referred to "a
landing by pilot's consent," in remarks carried by the Anatolia news
agency.
Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tigran Balaian told AFP that
"the plane, which was carrying humanitarian cargo to Syria, made a
pre-planned landing in Turkey. The landing in Turkey was previously
agreed with the Turkish side."
The aid was being sent to Syria as part of an Armenian campaign called
"Help a Brother," one of its organizers said.
"The humanitarian cargo included foodstuffs like buckwheat, rice,
sugar, pasta and so on," campaign organizer Vahan Hovannisian, a
lawmaker from the nationalist Dashnaktsutiun party, told AFP.
There is a small Armenian community in Syria - between 60,000 and
100,000 people, according to estimates - most of whom live in Aleppo.
Since the conflict began, several thousand have fled to Armenia amid
fears that Christians could suffer if President Bashar al-Assad is
ousted and replaced by an Islamic regime.
Armenia also has close ties with Syria's major ally Russia.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations and their border has
been closed for more than a decade.
Turkish-Armenian ties have been complicated by disputes including
Armenian lobbying for recognition of 1915 killings of Armenians by
Ottoman Turks as genocide, and Armenia's invasion of the Azerbaijani
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Monday's landing comes after Turkey and Syria closed their airspaces
to each other's civilian flights at the weekend.
Ankara has taken an increasingly strident line towards the regime in
Damascus since a shell fired from the Syrian side of the border killed
five Turkish civilians on October 3.
Last Wednesday, Ankara forced a Syrian passenger plane en route from
Mosow to Damascus to land in the Turkish capital because it was
believed to be carrying suspect cargo.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the cargo contained military
equipment for the Syrian Defense Ministry.
-AFP
http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=446544