Azernews.Az

An Armenian cargo plane, which was forced to land at an airport in Turkey by the authorities on Thursday morning, left for Syria after a four-hour inspection of the cargo on board, Turkish media reported.

The Antonov AN 12 plane had been grounded at the Erzurum airport in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia region. Ammunition experts from the Turkish armed forces and police have searched the airplane with trained police dogs. The cargo inspection showed that the aircraft was carrying humanitarian aid, and no illegal goods were found.

Another Armenian plane landed in Turkey in mid-October and was allowed to continue to the Syrian city of Aleppo after authorities confirmed it was carrying aid.

Turkish authorities said earlier they would inspect all cargo planes flying to Syria to check possible presence of weapons on board.

Then, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the plane had made a "technical landing" due to "certain violations".

But Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan said the landing in Turkey by this aircraft had been planned and it took place in full compliance with an agreement reached earlier.

A large Armenian community lives in Syria. According to some estimates, it includes 80,000 to 100,000 people, of whom 50,000-60,000 live in Aleppo and the rest in Latakia, Damascus, Kesap and Al Qamishli.

Ankara has stepped up efforts to prevent its air space being used to supply the Syrian military and forced down a Syrian airliner travelling from Moscow last month, saying it was carrying Russian munitions destined for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military.