Turkey Closes Airspace to Russian Planes Flying to Syria, FM Announces

Turkey has closed its airspace to Russian planes flying to Syria, both civilian and military, Turkish media has quoted Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu as saying. The decision to ban the Russian aircraft from Turkish airspace was communicated to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who told Russian President Vladimir Putin, AFP reported. The ban will remain in place for three months, according to the report. The planes are carrying Russian troops to Syria, according to Çavuşoğlu. Russia has not commented on the report. Russia and Turkey have been on opposite sides in Syria’s civil war, with Russia a major supporter of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Meanwhile, Ankara has been working to arrange a summit in Istanbul between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an attempt to mediate an end to the Russo-Ukraine War.