Turkey says won’t ban Syria outreach flights

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu commented on the landing of Syria-bound Armenian plane in the eastern Turkish city of Erzurum for cargo search.

Davutoğlu noted that Turkey won’t ban the flights of airplanes carrying humanitarian aid, with different measures to be taken in case of planes with uncertain cargo.

“Armenia requested the use of Turkish airspace to take humanitarian aid to Aleppo. Turkey granted permission on the condition that the plane would make a technical landing in Erzurum, a request in keeping with international aviation law” he said.

Turkey gave the all clear for an Armenian plane to continue on its journey to the Syrian city of Aleppo after ordering it to land in eastern Turkey so its cargo of humanitarian aid could be searched, Reuters quoted Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc as saying Oct 15.

Armenian aircraft carrying humanitarian assistance to Syria made a scheduled landing in Turkey, director of AIR Armenia CJSC said.

As Arsen Avetisyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, the planes carrying cargo to Syria must be granted permit for operating flights in the Turkish airspace.

“We received the permission with one precondition: the airplane must land in one of the Turkish airports for cargo search,” he said, adding that company itself gave consent to landing at Erzurum airport.