Syria has stoutly denied Turkish claims that Russian-made defense equipment were seized from a Moscow-Damascus passenger plane which was forced to land in Ankara by Turkish fighter jets on Wednesday.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told journalists in Ankara on Thursday that the cargo seized from the Damascus-bound airliner contained "equipment and ammunition that was being sent from a Russian agency... to the Syrian Defense Ministry." He added that the supplier was a state-run arms manufacturer.
In response, Syria's Foreign Ministry alleged in a statement carried by the official SANA news agency that Erdogan was lying "to justify his government's hostile attitude towards Syria." Challenging Erdogan to publicly display the "equipment and ammunition" claimed to have been seized from the Syrian aircraft, the Ministry added: "The plane's cargo was documented in detail on the bill of lading and the plane did not carry any illegal material or any weapons."
Moscow also reacted to Turkish claims about the seizure of air cargo, stressing that the Turkish action of forcing the aircraft to land in Ankara had put the lives of the plane's passengers, including 17 Russian nationals, "in danger." Nevertheless, Turkish Foreign Ministry responded to the Russian allegation by saying that there was "no basis" for Moscow's safety concerns as "all measures were taken to ensure the safety of all passengers and to cater to their possible needs."
Turkish fighter jets forced the Airbus A-320 airliner to land at the Esenboga airport in Ankara for security checks on suspicion of carrying weapons or other military equipment. Incidentally, Turkey has imposed an arms embargo on Syria and has stressed that it is determined to stop any transfer of weapons to Syria through its airspace.
The Syrian aircraft was intercepted as it passed through Turkish airspace while flying from Moscow to Damascus with 35 passengers and two crew-members on board. Turkish officials said then that they had information that the aircraft might be carrying "non-civilian cargo," and noted that the number of people on board was far fewer than its actual capacity of 180. The jetliner was subsequently allowed to leave with its passengers after Turkish security personnel searched the aircraft thoroughly and confiscated its cargo.
The development comes amid tensions triggered by the death of five Turkish civilians--two women and three children-- in a Syrian cross-border mortar strike on the Turkish border village of Akcakale last week. Turkey has since carried out several cross-border artillery strikes on targets inside Syria.
Further, the Turkish Parliament gave its consent to the government for carrying out cross-border military operations in Syria for one year. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Erdogan has stressed that his government does not intend to start a war with Syria. However, Turkey moved tanks and anti-aircraft missiles into Akcakale last Friday to deter further cross-border attacks.
Following the developments, the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) called for restraint by both the countries, and condemned the Syrian shelling "in the strongest terms." It said the incident "highlighted the grave impact the crisis in Syria has on the security of its neighbors and on regional peace and stability."
Although Turkey and Syria maintained close ties until recently, their relations began deteriorating over Ankara's strong criticism of the Syrian regime over its continued crackdowns on dissidents and anti-government protesters. Turkey has also openly supported the Opposition-backed Free Syria Army, an armed rebel group largely made up of Army deserters. Ties between the two nations worsened further in June, when the Syrian military shot down a Turkish fighter jet over the Mediterranean near the country's border in which two Turkish Air Force officers were killed.
Notably, Turkey has been providing refuge to Syrian dissidents fleeing brutal security crackdowns at home. But Damascus alleges that the Syrian Army deserters are using Turkey as a base for launching attacks on Syrian military installations.
Syria has been witnessing fierce fighting between government forces and armed rebels opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. More than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, are believed to have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since the revolt began in March 2011.
The conflict is now viewed as a civil war by most of the international community. Violence has forced hundreds of thousands of Syrians to seek refuge in neighboring Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. It is now threatening to spill over to neighboring nations and is increasingly becoming sectarian in nature.
Continued efforts by the international community to find a solution to the Syrian crisis have been hampered by a deep divide in the UNSC, with Russia and China backing the Assad regime and the West opposing it. Nevertheless, Russia recently voted in favor of a UNSC statement condemning the Syrian shelling of the Turkish border village last week.
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Business News
April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.