Turkish 'Force Down' of Syrian Passenger Jet Ratchets Up Tension

October 11, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

A Syrian passenger plane has taken off from Ankara after it was detained by Turkish authorities. The government said it was carrying suspicious materials, but has yet to say what those were. The incident marks a new low in relations between the two countries. Al Jazeera's Mereana Hond reports.

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Syria-Turkey relations

Syrian–Turkish relations have long been strained. Turkey shares its longest common border with Syria; various geographic and historical links also tie the two neighboring states together. This friction has been due to disputes including the self annexation of the Hatay Provinc... Explore this topic

Ahmet Davutoglu

Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu is the Foreign Minister of Turkey. He is also a political scientist, an academic and an ambassador at large and was formerly chief advisor to the Prime Minister. Explore this topic

Russia-Turkey relations

Russia–Turkey relations is the bilateral relationship between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey and their predecessor states. Contact between the two countries have generally been excessively strained. Explore this topic

Russia-Syria relations

Russia–Syria relations refers to the bilateral relationship between the two countries, Russia and Syria. Russia has an embassy in Damascus and had a consulate in Aleppo, since closed down. Syria has an embassy in Moscow. Russia enjoys a historically strong, stable, and friendl... Explore this topic

Turkey

Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country, located mostly on Anatolia in Western Asia and on East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armen... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Russia

Russia or, also officially known as the Russian Federation, is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania an... Explore this topic

Passenger aircraft

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Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat against other aircraft, as opposed to bombers and attack aircraft, whose main mission is to attack ground targets. The hallmarks of a fighter are its speed, maneuverability, and small size relat... Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

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