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Agence France Presse
Oct 15 2012
Armenian jet flies to Aleppo after Turkish checks
(AFP)
ANKARA - An Armenian plane carrying humanitarian aid to Syria's
battered second city of Aleppo took off again Monday after being made
to land in eastern Turkey for a security check on its cargo, the
Anatolia news agency reported.
Officials said no suspect cargo turned up during the stop in eastern
Erzurum city, unlike last week when Turkey forced a Damascus-bound
Syrian airliner from Moscow to land in Ankara, sparking tensions with
Russia and Syria.
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc earlier said the cargo on
the Armenian plane matched the manifest handed in by the crew prior to
the flight but the security check showed "how well Turkey performed
its duty."
The Air Armenia cargo plane was required to stop over in Turkey for
routine security checks in line with civil aviation rules as an
unscheduled flight, a foreign ministry official told AFP earlier.
Armenia confirmed that the landing of the plane, which both countries
said was carrying humanitarian aid, was pre-arranged.
On Wednesday Turkish jets forced a Syrian plane flying from Russia to
land at Ankara airport because of what it called suspect cargo.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the cargo contained military
equipment for the Syrian defence ministry, but Russia said it was
dual-purpose radar equipment which was not banned by international
conventions.
Turkey and Syria closed their airspaces to each other's civilian
flights at the weekend.
The Armenian plane was carrying aid as part of a campaign called "Help
a Brother", including foodstuffs, organiser Vahan Hovannisian, a
lawmaker from the nationalist Armenian Dashnaktsutiun party, told AFP.
Syria has a small Armenian community of between 60,000 and 100,000
people, according to estimates, most of whom live in Aleppo.
Armenia also has close ties with Syria's major ally Russia while its
relations with Turkey have long been strained.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has been
closed for more than a decade.
Ankara has taken an increasingly strident line towards the regime in
Damascus since a shell fired from the Syrian side of the border during
fighting between government forces and rebels killed five Turkish
civilians on October 3.
Oct 15 2012
Armenian jet flies to Aleppo after Turkish checks
(AFP)
ANKARA - An Armenian plane carrying humanitarian aid to Syria's
battered second city of Aleppo took off again Monday after being made
to land in eastern Turkey for a security check on its cargo, the
Anatolia news agency reported.
Officials said no suspect cargo turned up during the stop in eastern
Erzurum city, unlike last week when Turkey forced a Damascus-bound
Syrian airliner from Moscow to land in Ankara, sparking tensions with
Russia and Syria.
Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc earlier said the cargo on
the Armenian plane matched the manifest handed in by the crew prior to
the flight but the security check showed "how well Turkey performed
its duty."
The Air Armenia cargo plane was required to stop over in Turkey for
routine security checks in line with civil aviation rules as an
unscheduled flight, a foreign ministry official told AFP earlier.
Armenia confirmed that the landing of the plane, which both countries
said was carrying humanitarian aid, was pre-arranged.
On Wednesday Turkish jets forced a Syrian plane flying from Russia to
land at Ankara airport because of what it called suspect cargo.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the cargo contained military
equipment for the Syrian defence ministry, but Russia said it was
dual-purpose radar equipment which was not banned by international
conventions.
Turkey and Syria closed their airspaces to each other's civilian
flights at the weekend.
The Armenian plane was carrying aid as part of a campaign called "Help
a Brother", including foodstuffs, organiser Vahan Hovannisian, a
lawmaker from the nationalist Armenian Dashnaktsutiun party, told AFP.
Syria has a small Armenian community of between 60,000 and 100,000
people, according to estimates, most of whom live in Aleppo.
Armenia also has close ties with Syria's major ally Russia while its
relations with Turkey have long been strained.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has been
closed for more than a decade.
Ankara has taken an increasingly strident line towards the regime in
Damascus since a shell fired from the Syrian side of the border during
fighting between government forces and rebels killed five Turkish
civilians on October 3.