Turkey closes airspace to Russian jets flying to Syria’s war A Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-34 flies over the city of Binnish in the eastern part of the Idlib province in northwestern Syria, on March 3, 2020. (Muhammad Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)
Turkey closed its airspace to Russian jets flying to Syria, a shift in policy aimed at increasing the cost of the war in Ukraine for President Vladimir Putin.
Turkey barred the Russian aircraft, including any civilian flights carrying troops, from its skies for the first time since Russia intervened in Syria’s civil war in 2015 in support of President Bashar Assad.
The move adds to external pressure on Moscow to end its conflict in Ukraine, now entering its third month. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Putin of his decision in a phone call, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was cited as saying by state broadcaster TRT. He didn’t specify when the call took place.
Most Russian flights to Syria pass though Turkish airspace, though the number of troops ferried to the country isn’t publicly disclosed.
The restrictions are unlikely to halt the movement of soldiers and weapons to Syria from Russia, according to a Turkish official familiar with the matter, who said Moscow will likely now divert flights across Iranian airspace.
The key goal rather was to show solidarity with fellow NATO members, many of whom are sending weapons into Ukraine to help support the fight against Russia, the official said, asking not to be identified discussing security matters. Turkey has already limited access through the Bosporus strait for Russian naval vessels.
It comes before United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres meets Erdogan in Ankara on Monday. Guterres then travels to Russia and Ukraine this week where he will meet Putin and Zelenskiy. Turkey has sought to act as a mediator between Kyiv and Moscow, and has hosted their foreign ministers previously for talks.
Ties between Turkey and Russia are already complicated. They are in opposing camps in conflicts from Syria to North Africa to the Caucasus, often backing sides at war with each other.
The two countries are locked in a bitter dispute in Syria. Thousands of Turkish soldiers are deployed around the rebel-held Idlib province, vulnerable to attacks by government forces backed by Russia.
At the same time, tensions between Turkey and the U.S. have risen over Erdogan’s decision to buy air defense missiles from Russia. Russian tourists make up the bulk of foreign visitors, bringing in much needed hard currency to Turkey’s economy, while Russian companies are building Turkey’s only nuclear power plant.
And the Turkish government has refrained from joining sanctions for fear of retribution. Russia meets around half of Turkey’s demand for natural gas, giving it huge leverage over the government in Ankara.
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