Syria plane had radar equipment: Russia

13 Oct 2012, 9:40 am   -   Source: AAP
The Syrian plane intercepted by Turkey was carrying radar equipment, Russian government says. (AAP)

The Syrian plane intercepted by Turkey was carrying radar equipment, Russian government says. (AAP)

The Russian government has made its first public remarks about the cargo on board a Syrian plane intercepted by Turkey this week.

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The Syrian plane intercepted by Turkey this week on a flight from Moscow was carrying a legal cargo of radar equipment, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says.

"This cargo is electrical technical equipment for radar stations, this is dual-purpose equipment but is not forbidden by any international conventions," Lavrov said on Friday in the Russian government's first public remarks about the nature of the cargo.

"The plane contained cargo that a legal Russian supplier delivered legally to a legal client," Lavrov said in televised remarks, speaking after a meeting of the Russian security council chaired by President Vladimir Putin.

"There were no weapons on board this plane, nor could there have been."

The Kremlin said the council meeting discussed the situation in Syria, among other issues.

Turkey had scrambled jets to force a Syrian plane on its way from Moscow to Damascus to land inside Turkey on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the plane's cargo included military equipment and ammunition for the Syrian regime, charges denied by Damascus.

On Friday Turkey scrambled a fighter jet after a Syrian helicopter shelled the Syrian town of Azmarin near their common border, an official said.

"The fighter jet took off from Diyarbakir base in the southeast after (Syrian) regime forces sent a helicopter to shell Azmarin, which was seized by rebel forces," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Relations between one-time allies Turkey and Syria have deteriorated since a popular uprising started against President Bashar al-Assad's regime in March last year.

Tensions between the neighbours reached a new high last week when mortars fired from Syria killed five Turkish nationals in a Turkish border village and Ankara began firing artillery into Syria in retaliation.

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