Azernews.Az

Turkey has issued a permission for a Syrian-bound passenger aircraft, which it earlier forced to land in Ankara, to resume its course, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told local television, RIA Novosti reported.

On Wednesday, Turkish F-16 fighter jets forced down the Airbus A320, which was flying from Moscow to Damascus, over suspicions it has prohibited cargo on board.

The permission was issued after the five-hour inspection of the aircraft that resulted in the arrest of the cargo it carried. Some Turkish media reports stated that there were parts for radio stations used for military purposes, while NTV television channel said there was an object that could be a part of a missile.

A source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the Russian embassy in Ankara asked the Turkish Foreign Ministry to explain the incident as, according to the source, there were 17 Russian nationals among 30 passengers on board of the aircraft.

Tensions between Turkey and Syria boiled over late last Wednesday when a mortar round apparently fired from Syria killed five civilians in the Turkish border town of Akcakale.

Turkey responded with artillery strikes against targets in violence-wracked Syria and the Turkish parliament authorized the government to order more strikes as necessary.

Although Damascus apologized for the incident, Turkish and Syrian artillery exchanged fire a number of times over the ensuing six days.