According to Turkey’s top diplomat, Ankara has restricted Turkish airspace to Russian commercial and military planes between Russia and Syria. During a visit to Uruguay, Mevlut Cavusoglu informed a group of Turkish journalists that Russia has permission to use Turkish airspace for aircraft to Syria until the end of April.
Cavusoglu, however, told Haberturk television on Saturday that he urged Moscow to stop using the airspace during a visit there in March, and that Moscow agreed to the Turkish request. Cavusoglu did not clarify, and it was unclear whether the measure was intended to impede the prospective transit of Syrian militants to Ukraine.
Turkey, a NATO member, has been attempting to strike a balance between its tight ties with Moscow and Kyiv, positioning itself as a go-between. It has not joined international sanctions on Russia, but it has barred several Russian vessels from passing through the straits at the entrance to the Black Sea. The country has hosted a meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, as well as negotiations between the two negotiating teams.
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