Russian FM denies plane to Syria had weapons on board

Russia's foreign minister said on Friday that a Moscow-Damascus passenger airliner forced to land in Turkey over suspicions it had weapons on board was legally carrying Russian radar parts, RIA Novosti reports.

Turkish F-16 fighter jets forced down the Syrian Air Airbus A320 some three hours after it had taken off from Moscow's Vnukovo international airport late on Wednesday. Turkey eventually permitted the A320 to resume its flight after a five-hour inspection of the aircraft that resulted in the seizure of a number of items.

"We have no secrets," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists after meeting President Vladimir Putin near Moscow. "There were, of course, no weapons on board and there could not have been."

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.