Turkey performs observation flights over Russia

Turkey has begun to fly observation flights over Russia territory with Finland in accordance with the Open Skies Agreement, Turkey's General Staff said on Wednesday.

According to a statement issued by the Turkish military, these flights are part of the Open Skies Agreement under the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

A Turkish surveillance plane carrying Turkish and Finnish experts conducted flights over Russia on Monday and will continue till June 17, local media reported.

The Russian Defense ministry official said in a statement that Russian officers will accompany the flights, Daily News reported.

The Open Skies Agreement, which was signed on March 1992 in Helsinki, Finland, between 27 countries of the OSCE, facilitates flights by unarmed surveillance craft over foreign states.Turkey signed the agreement in 1994.

Relations between the two countries have been deeply strained since a Russian Su-24 bomber jet was downed on November 25, 2015. Then Russia imposed a range of economic sanctions against Turkey.

Turkey refused Moscow's similar demand in February citing a disagreement on the route in Turkish skies.

According to local Daily Sabah, a request to fly over the border with Syria by Russia based on the treaty was rejected by Ankara.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said at the time that an agreement could not be reached on the mission plan between the two countries.

He also noted that Russia also imposes restrictions on observations flights to be conducted over its soil, which is known by all members of the Open Skies Agreement.

On early February, Turkish General Staff said in a statement that Turkey performs on average four surveillance flights over Russian territory every year, while Russian inspectors conduct two flights in Turkey. Enditem