Turkish fighters jets forced down the passenger plane that it suspected was carrying weapons to the Assad regime from Russia last night and reportedly seized suspicious cargo.
The plane was on a flight from Moscow before F16 fighter jets were scrambled to force it to land at Ankara airport, amid continuing tensions between Turkey and Syria.
Russia said earlier today that Turkish authorities refused to grant Russian diplomatic staff access to 17 Russian citizens on board during the eight hours that the flight was held up because of suspicions the aircraft was carrying military equipment.
"The Russian side is insisting on an explanation of the reasons for such actions by the Turkish authorities," a foreign minsitry statement said. It said that "the lives and safety of the passengers were placed under threat" by the incident.
But The Turkish foreign ministry replied: "There is no basis for the concerns that the safety of the passengers and the plane might have been compromised.
"After the landing, all measures were taken to ensure the safety of all passengers and to cater to their possible needs," the ministry said.
The diplomatic standoff came amid an announcement that Vladimir Putin is expected to travel to Turkey on December 3, after postponing his trip scheduled for next week.
Earlier, a Russian arms exporting agency source claimed no Russian weapons were on board a Syrian plane detained by Turkey en route from Moscow to Damascus, a Russian arms exporting agency source claimed today.
Parts of the cargo were seized in Turkey before the passenger jet continued its trip, but no details were given of its contents.
"Neither weapons nor any systems or assembly parts for military equipment were or could have been on board the passenger plane," the unidentified high-ranking source from one of Russia's arms exporting agencies told Interfax.
Russia is a key Syrian ally and major arms supplier to the country.
"If there were a need to deliver military equipment or armaments to Syria, it would be done in a routine way rather than illegally, let alone by using a passenger plane," the source was quoted as saying.
A “thorough search” of the aircraft was carried out and NTV reported that cargo believed to be missile parts were seized. Other reports stated that military communications devices were seized. “We received information that the plane’s cargo did not comply with rules of civil aviation,” said Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister.
There was information that it might be carrying “certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules”, Mr Davutoglu, said.
The only plane scheduled to leave Moscow for Syria on Wednesday was a Syrian Arab Airlines flight, RB442, to Aleppo, which is being bitterly contested by regime and rebel troops.
Its airport remains open despite rebel attacks nearby. RB442 was recorded on flight-tracking websites as delayed last night, with its last recorded position heading from the Crimea into Turkey.
A second passenger plane was forced to land in the Turkish city of Adana, said Louay al-Mokdad, a spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army, citing Turkish government sources. That plane was also waiting for Turkish permission to take off again for its destination in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Ankara warned Turkish airline companies against using Syrian airspace to avoid a possible retaliation from Damascus.
Russia has vetoed attempts to impose international sanctions on Syria at the United Nations Security Council, including an arms embargo.
Turkey is allowing its own borders to be used for shipments of weapons to the opposition from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Russia is likely to protest strongly against its latest action as one-sided, particularly if no weapons are found.
Even if that is the case, the Turkish action is another example of the squeeze being applied to the Assad regime by its neighbours.
Turkey has bombarded Syrian positions with artillery several times in the past week in response to Syrian shells that crossed over the border.
Turkey’s chief of staff said his troops would respond with greater force if bombardments from Syria kept hitting Turkish territory.
“We responded but if it continues we will respond with greater force,” General Necdet Ozel said, according to state television.
Separately, Taner Yildiz, the Turkish Energy Minister, says Syria has stopped purchasing electricity from their neighbour. Turkey had been providing 20 per cent of Syria's power supply
Meanwhile, American officials confirmed that a detachment of 150 US troops is now operating in Jordan less than 35 miles from the Syrian border.
The troops are intended in the first instance to help Jordan, a key but fragile US ally, deal with the influx of refugees from the fighting across the northern border. They are also preparing for any action that might be needed to secure Syria’s chemical weapons in the event of the Assad regime losing control of them.
But officials also told The New York Times that the possibility of a buffer zone in southern Syria, enforced by Jordanian troops with American logistical support, had also been discussed. Jordan as well as its neighbours is deeply concerned at the threat of the Syrian war spilling over its borders.
The American troops have been stationed at a Jordanian military base north of Amman about 35 miles from the border since the end of a major joint exercise called Operation Eager Lion. There have been reports before that troops pulled out of Iraq stayed in neighbouring Jordan as a buffer force, but this is the first confirmation of a deployment directly attributed to the Arab Spring.
In Libya, western nations including the United States supplied air power to help the rebels, but “boots on the ground” were limited to a small number of British and French special forces offering training and support.
The US, like Britain and other Nato countries, has refused to send military support to the Syrian rebels despite their calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, though the CIA are believed to be in southern Turkey helping to assess rebel recipients of military supplies sent by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The Jordanian deployment, confirmed by US defence officials in Brussels, also comes at a time of protests against the rule of King Abdullah, seen as an important pro-western buffer between Israel, with which Jordan is one of two Arab nations to have diplomatic relations, and other countries in the region.
King Abdullah on Wednesday appointed a new prime minister, Abdullah Ensour, to implement constitutional reforms he has put forward in response to the protests and to prepare the way for parliamentary elections next year.
At least 200,000 refugees from Syria have crossed into Jordan, with more than 30,000 at the giant Zaatari refugee camp. Residents there have staged protests and even riots over conditions.
Jordan fears that militants now known to be aiding the Syrian rebels, to whom Jordan has offered moral support, might use the cover of the conflict and its refugees to cross over the border themselves.
