Armenian plane takes off after security checks in Turkey

An Armenian cargo plane had resumed its flight to Aleppo, Syria, after being forced to land by Turkey for security checks, local media Armenpress reported Monday. The plane, carrying humanitarian aid, was forced to land earlier Monday in Turkey's eastern city of Erzurum, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Armenian foreign ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan said the landing was pre-arranged and accorded with a preliminary agreement with Turkey. Monday's landing comes after Turkey and Syria shut down their airspace to each other's civilian flights at the weekend due to increasing tension on the border.