Syria Demands Turkey Return Grounded Plane Cargo
Damascus accused Ankara on Thursday of "hostile" behavior after a Syrian Air plane was intercepted by Turkish authorities en route from Moscow to Damascus and forced to land in Ankara.
The interception of the plane on Wednesday was "hostile and reprehensible behavior" and was "another sign of the hostile policies of the Erdogan government, which harbors (rebels) and bombs Syrian territory," the foreign ministry said, referring to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The ministry demanded that Turkey return the cargo seized by Turkish authorities from the Syrian Air Airbus A-320 before it was allowed to take off again.
"The Syrian government calls on the Turkish authorities for a complete and proper restitution of the contents of the plane," it said.
Turkey scrambled two jets to force down the plane after reportedly receiving intelligence it was carrying military cargo for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"Turkish military aircraft ... forced the plane to land without giving prior warning to the pilot. The military aircraft were so close that there could have been an accident," said Syrian Air director Aida Abdel Latif.
According to Syria's official SANA news agency, the plane, which was en route from Moscow to Damascus when it was forced to land, finally landed in the Syrian capital on Thursday at 5:10 am (02H10 GMT). It had been held in Ankara for about nine hours on Wednesday.
He added that the Turkish authorities used "aggression" against the crew after they "refused to sign (a document stating) that the plane had made an emergency landing."
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkish authorities seized "objectionable cargo" from the plane, but Syrian Air denied that any irregular items had been on board.
"The aircraft was not carrying any illegal material and its cargo was compatible with international laws and regulations," Abdel Latif said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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