Syria Plane Didn't Have Weapons on Board, Russia Says
Business | October 12, 2012, Friday| 1266 views
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A Syrian passenger plane at Ankara airport on October 10, 2012. Photo by RIA Novosti
The Moscow-Damascus passenger airliner that was forced to land in Turkey did not have weapons on board and was legally carrying Russian radar parts, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Late on Wednesday, Turkey grounded the Damascus-bound flight from Moscow in Ankara, saying it had grounds to believe the plane transported weapons for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.]
The aircraft was allowed to leave Ankara in the early hours of Thursday.
Russia has already strongly objected to the forceful landing.
"We have no secrets," Lavrov told reporters on Friday, as cited by RIA Novosti.
"There were, of course, no weapons on board and there could not have been," he declared.
Lavrov also stressed the delivery was "entirely legal" and that Russia would demand both the return of the equipment and an explanation from Turkey.
But he also said the "radar station equipment" was "dual purpose," meaning it could have both civilian and military applications.
Tags: passengers, Bashar Al-Assad, Ankara, Turkish, turkey, Damascus, Syrian, Syria, Moscow, Russia, Russian, Sergey Lavrov, weapons, radar parts
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