video transcript

Turkey has given the all clear for an Armenian plane to continue on its journey to the Syrian city of Aleppo. Ankara had ordered the plane to land in eastern Turkey so its cargo of humanitarian aid could be searched. Ankara is stepping up efforts to prevent its air space being used to supply the Syrian military. The government forced down a Syrian airliner travelling from Moscow last Wednesday, saying it was carrying Russian munitions destined for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military. Russia has said there were no weapons on the plane and that it was carrying a legal cargo of radar equipment. But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov moved to cool friction with Ankara, and speaking from Luxembourg on Monday said that the incident would not affect ties between the two states. Ankara announced on Sunday that Turkish air space is closed to Syrian planes. Syria banned Turkish planes from flying over its territory on Saturday.