KIEV, September 10 (TASS) – Ukraine has closed air space for Russia’s aircraft bound for Syria, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said at the meeting with his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico on Thursday.
“I ordered Ukraeroruh [Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise] this morning to increase control with Eurocontrol on the flights of any Russian planes to Syria. Now the air space over Ukraine is closed in general and the air space over the neutral waters is under special control,” he said.
Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday it refused to allow air corridor for Russian aircraft carrying humanitarian assistance to Syria between September 1 and September 24.
“We denied permission to let Russian military-transport planes cross Bulgarian territory because on the basis of the available information we have reasonable doubts the cargoes are not the declared ones. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry made that decision of its own accord,” the ministry’s spokesperson said.
MOSCOW, September 10 (TASS) – Russia will not leave Syria in the lurch and it will continue to provide assistance to Damascus although Ukraine has closed its airspace to Russian aircraft, the chairman of the State Duma’s defence committee, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov told TASS on Thursday.
Earlier in the day Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that Kiev had tightened control of the traffic of Russian planes to Syria.
“Russia has always managed to devise an alternative solution. It has never abandoned its friends. Ukraine may betray others. Russia will go ahead with its support for Syria and its people,” Komoyedov said.
Asked if Kiev’s latest actions required some kind of response from Russia, Komoyedov replied it was no use noticing “every sneeze.”