Turkey stops plane, prevents Bosnian Serb leader’s trip to ArmeniaApril 23, 2015 - 11:34 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey on Wednesday, April 22, stopped Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik's plane from flying over its territory, preventing him from attending a ceremony to mark the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, his cabinet said, according to AFP. "Although all authorizations for this flight had been initially obtained, Turkish authorities did not allow the flight over their territory," Dodik's cabinet said in a statement. The plane carrying the president of Republika Srpska, a Serb-run entity of Bosnia, returned to his capital Banja Luka after spending four and a half hours at an airport in eastern Bulgaria, waiting in vain for authorization to fly over Turkish territory, the statement said. But Turkey hit back, saying the allegations did "not reflect reality" and accusing Dodik's entourage of failing to follow procedure by not asking for overflight permission through "diplomatic channels". "There was never a question of any kind of refusal," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "Overflight authorization to travel to Yerevan will naturally be given to Dodik if he so requests." French President Francois Hollande and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are among those expected to attend Friday's ceremonies. Earlier this month Dodik submitted to the Republika Srpska's parliament a declaration recognizing the massacres as a genocide. The legislative body will likely adopt the declaration in the coming days, although Bosnian Muslim political leaders, who view Turkey as their main international ally, have criticized the initiative. Photo: AFP Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. |