Turkish official says plane carrying humanitarian aid, Foreign Ministry says it would be allowed to continue journey if nothing else was found.

An Armenian plane which was forced to land in the eastern Turkish city of Erzurum on Monday was travelling from Armenia to the Syrian city of Aleppo, an official from the Turkish prime minister`s office said.

The official said the plane was carrying humanitarian aid and a Foreign Ministry official said it would be allowed to continue on its journey if nothing else was found.

Last Wednesday, a Syrian Airbus A320 was intercepted by Turkish fighter jets on its way from Moscow to Damascus and forced to land in Ankara amid heightened tensions between Turkey and Syria, fueled by recent cross-border shelling from Syria that killed five Turkish civilians.

The plane was allowed to continue to Damascus after several hours, without the cargo. Syria branded the incident piracy and Russia called the search illegal, saying it endangered the lives of Russian citizens aboard the plane.

On Thursday, Turkey`s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the plane was carrying ammunition and military equipment for the Syrian Defense Ministry. Russia`s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the plane was legally carrying Russian radar parts for Syria.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/armenian-plane-forced-to-land-in-turkey-was-en-route-to-syria-1.470106