TURKEY REFUTES CLAIMS UKRAINE FLIGHT DENIED AIR ACCESS

Hürriyet
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 14:57
Turkey

The Turkish Foreign Ministry denied news reports claiming that Turkey
did not allow a Ukrainian plane carrying humanitarian aid from Kiev
to Georgia to use its air space.

Turkey has so far accepted all flight requests regarding the evacuation
of people from the region and for humanitarian aid transfer to
Georgia, Burak Ozugergin, spokesman for the ministry, said in a
written statement.

"It was understood that the mentioned flight failed due to problems
in Georgian air space. Now, such flights are diverted to Yerevan,
Armenia, because of the problems in Georgian air space. Also, the
flights between Armenia and Russia via Georgia begin following the
route over Turkey because of the same problems," he was quoted by
the state-run Anatolian Agency as saying.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko had earlier said a
plane loaded with humanitarian relief bound for Georgia could not
reach its destination, as Turkey closed its air corridor, according
to some reports in Ukranian media.

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