Turkey bans Russian observation flight near Syria border

However, after the arrival of the Russian mission in Turkey and the announcement of the planned route of the observation flight, the Turkish military denied the opportunity to conduct it citing an instruction from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said the ministry would have no immediate comment.

“This once again confirms those concerns that the Russian side has voiced several times on using the Turkish-Syrian border to support Daesh militants”, the source said.

The Russian Aerospace Defense Forces have been conducting an aerial campaign against the terrorist positions in Syria since September 30, following a request from President Assad.

“We will continue to help Syrian refugees”, he said.

Meanwhile, several mortar bombs and gunfire from a part of Syria controlled by Islamic State hit a Turkish border town on Wednesday, close to where Turkish soldiers were clearing landmines, local residents and media reports said.

“A Russian combat aircraft violated Turkish airspace yesterday, despite repeated warnings by the Turkish authorities”, said Stoltenberg in a statement, adding that, “Previous incidents have shown how risky such behavior is”.

Relations between Moscow and Ankara have deteriorated sharply since November 24, when Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border, saying it had violated its air space.

A civil war that has killed 250,000 people over five years and forced millions of others to flee their homes has confronted Europe with the rising threat of terrorism and a growing migrant crisis.

United Nations agencies are appealing for a total of $7.73 billion to cope with Syria’s needs this year, with a further $1.2 billion required by regional governments for their own plans to deal with the impact of Syria’s conflict.

Why is there a war in Syria?

Government forces concentrated in Damascus and the centre and west of Syria are fighting the jihadists of Islamic State and al-Nusra Front, as well as less numerous so-called “moderate” rebel groups, who are strongest in the north and east. These groups are also battling each other. Hezbollah and Iran are believed to have troops and officers on the ground, while a Western-led coalition and Russian Federation are carrying out air strikes.