ANKARA
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the postponement of Russian president's visit in Turkey had no connection with the interception of a Syrian passenger plane which was forced to land in the Turkish capital on suspicions of weapons and military equipment on board.
"The postponement of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit in Turkey has nothing to do with any crisis. The visit will take place in the weeks to come. The interception of the [Syrian] plane has no dimension that might affect Turkish-Russian relations," Davutoglu told private Turkish broadcaster TGRT.
Putin was set to pay a visit to Turkey on October 14-15.
An Airbus A320 of the Syrian Air travelling from Moscow was intercepted by two Turkish F-16 warplanes as it entered the Turkish airspace and it was escorted to land at Ankara's Esenboga International Airport.
Turkish authorities confiscated part of the cargo aboard the Syrian airliner for examination before letting the plane take off.
