International
Khalil Mazraawi / AFP / Getty Images
Bulgaria confirmed on Tuesday that it had refused permission to an unspecified number of Russian aircraft to cross its airspace on the way to Syria, a measure that Greece earlier said it had been asked to implement by Washington. It comes amid growing U.S. concern that Moscow is boosting military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Betina Zhoteva, a Bulgarian foreign ministry spokeswoman, said Sofia had received information — “that we had every reason to trust” — suggesting that for the flights in question, the declared cargo of humanitarian aid “was not the real one."
Zhoteva said the decision was made late last week and took place independently, without pressure from NATO partners.
But Moscow suggested that Bulgaria and Greece — which on Monday was asked by Washington to ban Russian supply flights to Syria, according to Athens — might have been pressured into the move.
“If we are talking about them taking some sort of restrictive or prohibitive measures on the Americans' request, then this raises questions about their sovereign right to take decisions about planes from other countries — Russia in particular — crossing their airspace,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told the Interfax news agency.
“We explain where our planes are flying to, and what their purpose and their cargo is,” he added.
He said that ferrying cargo, which included humanitarian and military aid, through the airspace of a third party — as well as obtaining permission to do so — should be a routine procedure.
“We've never had any problems before,” he said.
Athens has said it is examining the U.S. request, but gave no further details. Washington is concerned that Moscow could be increasing its military support to Assad, an issue raised by Secretary of State John Kerry with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during the weekend.
Russia has dismissed U.S. concerns about its alleged Syria buildup, saying its military aid to the Assad regime is nothing out of the ordinary. Likewise, Syria has denied reports of increased military activity by Russian troops on its soil.
Speaking late on Monday to Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station, Information Minister Omran Zohbi dismissed the reports as baseless.
“There is absolutely nothing to these rumors and what was said a few days ago,” Zohbi said of reports of increased aid from Russia.
“There are no Russian forces, and there is no Russian military activity on Syrian territory by land, sea or air,” Zohbi told Al-Manar.
Wire services
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