Bulgaria Denies Overflight to Syria-bound Russian Cargo Plane Citing Short Notice

Bulgaria has refused overflight rights to a Russian plane carrying humanitarian aid to Syria, saying the respective request was submitted at a very short notice.

The Russian side has submitted the request for an October 16 overflight just two days in advance, while regulations require a five-day notice, Bulgarian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Betina Zhoteva has said, according to BTA news agency.

Bulgaria’s refusal to allow the Russian plane to transit its airspace en route to Syria will have no impact on the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-torn country, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said on Friday.

"The special flight of the Emergencies Ministry has successfully flown to Latakia [Syria] via an alternative route," Russian news agency TASS quoted a spokesman for the ministry as saying.

Bulgaria denied permission to Russian military transport planes said to be carrying humanitarian aid to Syria to cross its airspace last month, saying Bulgarian authorities “had reasonable doubts the cargoes were not the declared ones.”

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