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Russia, Turkey in talks for return of seized cargo

31 October 2012 04:18 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Turkish and Russian authorities are in talks over the possible return of the cargo seized when Turkey intercepted a Damascus-bound plane on suspicion that it was carrying arms from Russia to Syria, APA reports quoting presstv.ir website.

Russian Foreign Ministry officials told Kommersant newspaper that they were not hopeful that the talks would produce a positive result.

One official emphasized that Turkish authorities had refused to give the Syrian pilot of the plane a document certifying the seizure of the cargo despite repeated requests from the pilot.

Kommersant also reported that Russian officials want the cargo to be returned to the countryâ€™s defense company Konstruktorskoe Byuro Priborostroeniya.

Turkish F-16 fighter jets intercepted a Syrian Airbus A320 flying over Turkish airspace on October 10 and escorted it to Ankaraâ€™s Esenboga Airport.

Having taken off from Moscow, the plane was reportedly carrying 35 passengers on board, including 17 Russian nationals.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the decision was made based on information that the aircraft might be carrying â€œcertain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules.â€

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan later said the grounded plane contained â€œequipment and munitions sent for the Syrian Defense Ministry from a Russian institution.â€

The Syrian foreign ministry dismissed Turkish premierâ€™s claims, saying that Erdogan â€œcontinues to lie in order to justify his government’s hostile attitude towards Syria."

The Turkish authorities allowed the plane and its passengers to leave Ankara nine hours after landing, but seized its cargo.

Russia immediately expressed anger at the move and demanded that Turkish officials explain about the forced landing of the aircraft described by Syria as â€œhostileâ€ and an â€œact of air piracy.â€

Syria demanded that Ankara return the confiscated equipment and pay compensation for grounding the airplane.

The US threw its backing behind Turkey for the decision to land the Syria-bound plane.