The Turkish authorities have recognized the legitimacy of the cargo being carried by the
aircraft heading from Moscow to Damascus, but claim that
formalities were not observed, according to an official representative of the
Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Lukashevich. "The Turkish side does
not question the legitimacy of the confiscated freight", Lukashevich said.
"The previous statements about weapons found on the aircraft were
basically withdrawn by our Turkish partners," he noted.
According to him, the Turkish side regrets that Russian citizens were
forced to stay onboard and denying a meeting with diplomats.
"All this was connected to the extraordinary situation and
belated information about the citizenship of the passengers,"
Lukashevich added.
He noted that some of the passengers complained about the rude behaviour
of the Turkish police.
He added that Russia will insist on a detailed investigation of the incident.
As previously reported by VK, Turkish air force jets forced a Syrian
passenger plane en route from Moscow to Damascus to land at an airport
while it was passing through Turkish airspace on October 10, on the
grounds that the plane was carrying arms to Syria. The aircraft was carrying
35 passengers, including 17 Russian citizens.
