Turkey denies airspace to Republika Srpska president
The president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has not been allowed by Ankara to use Turkish airspace for a flight to Armenia, being forced to cancel his participation in a ceremony to mark the centenary of the World War I massacre of Armenians.
Republika Srpska’s government said in a statement that, despite obtaining “all authorizations,” the “Turkish authorities did not allow the flight over their territory.”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry replied by saying that the president’s statement did not reflect the “reality,” and accused his entourage of failing to follow overflight protocols.
The ministry added that Ankara would “naturally” give overflight authorization to the president “if he so requests.”
The plane carrying Dodik was delayed for four and a half hours at an airport in eastern Bulgaria, waiting for Ankara’s authorization to fly over Turkish territory. Dodik eventually canceled his participation in the Armenian memorial and returned to the capital, Banja Luka, after the long delay.
The memorial is to be held in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, on Friday.
Some world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, are among the figures expected to take part in the ceremonies.
Turkey, however, frowns on the event, and rejects the term “genocide.” Ankara maintains that hundreds of thousands of people died on both sides of the conflict during World War l and have to be considered war casualties.
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