Turkey Closes Airspace to Armenian PM’s Aircraft

ANKARA — Turkey has closed its airspace for flights of Armenian VIPs, including those of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, to third countries, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said in an interview with 24TV.

“Flights were made every day through the airspace of Turkey. Now we have closed it. We have closed it for VIPs too, let them not be offended by us. We have also closed it for Pashinyan’s plane. Only the speaker of the Armenian parliament came to the PABSEC meeting (in Ankara. – ed.). We hosted the summit, so it was impossible to close [the airspace] for a member of the organization,” the diplomat said.

This latest development comes after Turkey banned FlyOne Armenia from using its airspace following the opening of a monument in Yerevan on April 25 commemorating those who participated in the 1920s ‘Operation Nemesis’ program tasked with assassinating Ottoman officials who perpetrated the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

Speaking to broadcaster NTV, Cavusoglu said Turkey would take further steps if the monument is not removed.