Turkey closes airspace to military and civilian planes carrying troops from Russia to Syria
- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said: ‘We have closed our airspace to Russian military planes and … civilian planes flying to Syria and carrying soldiers’
- Ankara has also sought to encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold talks in Turkey
Turkey has closed its airspace to military and civilian planes carrying soldiers from Russia to Syria following consultations with Moscow, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Cavusoglu made the remarks to reporters on a plane to Uruguay, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Saturday.
Nato member Turkey has sought to act as mediator in the Ukraine conflict and maintains close ties to Ukraine and Russia.
“We have closed our airspace to Russian military planes and also even civilian planes flying to Syria and carrying soldiers,” Cavusoglu said.
Ankara had been giving Moscow clearance to fly through Turkish airspace in periods of three months up until April, but the flights have now been stopped, Cavusoglu added.
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Ankara has also sought to encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to hold talks in Turkey.
Both leaders have agreed to a meeting in Turkey if talks should make sufficient progress, according to Cavusoglu.
Moscow and Kyiv are working on a “draft joint declaration,” the Turkish minister added, without providing further details.
