IZMIR
Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, Binali Yildirim said on Thursday that Turkey forced a Syrian passenger plane to land at Ankara's Esenboga International Airport on Wednesday while it was bound for Damascus from Moscow based on national and international rules and regulations.
Speaking to reporters in Izmir province on the Syrian passenger plane incident, Binali Yildirim stressed that the Syrian plane was forced to land due to heavy suspicions involving its cargo.
"The Syrian passenger plane was forced to land in Ankara. Experts conducted an inspection of the plane's cargo, seized the cargo and took them out of the plane as the cargo was not suitable for a civil plane under international rules and regulations. Permission was issued to the plane for departure from Ankara at 22.30 hours. This is what happened on Wednesday," Yildirim indicated.
"An air space must be utilized for peaceful purposes. Otherwise, we will use our rights stemming from national and international laws. We used the rights on Wednesday and will use them in the future whenever necessary," Yildirim also said.
