Turkey had warned Russia in advance before moving to bar Russian planes from flying to Syria over its territory, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
The ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said that Turkey had asked Russia more than a month ago not to send Syria-bound planes over its territory.
She added that “the reasons for that were clear to us and the Russian side isn’t using that route.”
Zakharova made the comments at a briefing when asked about the Turkey’s announcement over the weekend that it had halted Russian flights to Turkey over its territory from the start of this month.
Her remarks follow a statement by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who said over the weekend that he asked Moscow to stop using the airspace during a visit there in March, and that Moscow agreed to the Turkish request.
Russia and Turkey have backed the opposite sides in Syria’s civil war, with Moscow joining efforts with Tehran to shore up President Bashar Assad’s government, and Turkey backing the opposition.
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