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The Daily Star, Lebanon
Oct 15 2012
Armenian plane en route to Syria searched in Turkey
October 15, 2012 09:37 PM (Last updated: October 15, 2012 09:40 PM) By
Gulsen Solaker, Ozge Ozbilgin
ANKARA: Turkey ordered an Armenian plane flying to the Syrian city of
Aleppo to land and searched its cargo on Monday, Ankara's latest move
to prevent its airspace 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.
Turkey forced down a Syrian airliner that had come from Moscow on
Wednesday, and said it had found 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.
"The plane was ordered to land and it was inspected. It was clear that
the declaration was correct and the plane was given permission to take
off," Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Turkey had the sovereign right under
the Chicago convention on civil aviation to require planes crossing
its airspace to make a "technical landing" but did not say whether
this right would be exercised in future.
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.
Aleppo has a sizeable ethnic Armenian minority.
Last week's decision to force down and search the Syrian plane
travelling 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 countries' "solid"
relations.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan repeated on Monday Ankara's
charge that the airliner was carrying military equipment. The packages
seized from the plane bore the name KBP Instrument Design Bureau, a
Russian weapons manufacturer, and the recipient was the Syrian Defence
Ministry, he said.
"The material (being exchanged) between these two institutions, which
is now in our hands, is definitely warfare material," Erdogan said.
"There is no reason to contort this by calling it radar equipment or
something else. In any case, radar material is used for the purpose of
war."
He also downplayed Russian requests for information.
"Russia wants information from us. They don't need to ask us, they can
just ask the respective bureau. It's clear from the consignment note,"
he told a news conference.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at the weekend that
Turkish airspace had been closed to Syrian planes. Syria 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.
The bloodshed inside Syria has worsened markedly in the past two
months although neither government nor rebels have been able to gain a
decisive advantage.
The increased conflict has fuelled further refugee flows across
Syria's borders, with many fleeing to Turkey.
The Turkish disaster management agency (AFAD) said on Monday there
were now 100,363 Syrians at more than a dozen camps.
Turkey has said it will struggle to accommodate more than 100,000 and
has urged the United Nations to build refugee camps in a safe zone
within Syria's borders.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Oct-15/191453-armenian-plane-forced-to-land-in-turkey-for-security-check.ashx#axzz29QPjavZx
Oct 15 2012
Armenian plane en route to Syria searched in Turkey
October 15, 2012 09:37 PM (Last updated: October 15, 2012 09:40 PM) By
Gulsen Solaker, Ozge Ozbilgin
ANKARA: Turkey ordered an Armenian plane flying to the Syrian city of
Aleppo to land and searched its cargo on Monday, Ankara's latest move
to prevent its airspace 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.
Turkey forced down a Syrian airliner that had come from Moscow on
Wednesday, and said it had found 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.
"The plane was ordered to land and it was inspected. It was clear that
the declaration was correct and the plane was given permission to take
off," Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told reporters.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Turkey had the sovereign right under
the Chicago convention on civil aviation to require planes crossing
its airspace to make a "technical landing" but did not say whether
this right would be exercised in future.
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.
Aleppo has a sizeable ethnic Armenian minority.
Last week's decision to force down and search the Syrian plane
travelling 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 countries' "solid"
relations.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan repeated on Monday Ankara's
charge that the airliner was carrying military equipment. The packages
seized from the plane bore the name KBP Instrument Design Bureau, a
Russian weapons manufacturer, and the recipient was the Syrian Defence
Ministry, he said.
"The material (being exchanged) between these two institutions, which
is now in our hands, is definitely warfare material," Erdogan said.
"There is no reason to contort this by calling it radar equipment or
something else. In any case, radar material is used for the purpose of
war."
He also downplayed Russian requests for information.
"Russia wants information from us. They don't need to ask us, they can
just ask the respective bureau. It's clear from the consignment note,"
he told a news conference.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at the weekend that
Turkish airspace had been closed to Syrian planes. Syria 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.
The bloodshed inside Syria has worsened markedly in the past two
months although neither government nor rebels have been able to gain a
decisive advantage.
The increased conflict has fuelled further refugee flows across
Syria's borders, with many fleeing to Turkey.
The Turkish disaster management agency (AFAD) said on Monday there
were now 100,363 Syrians at more than a dozen camps.
Turkey has said it will struggle to accommodate more than 100,000 and
has urged the United Nations to build refugee camps in a safe zone
within Syria's borders.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Oct-15/191453-armenian-plane-forced-to-land-in-turkey-for-security-check.ashx#axzz29QPjavZx