Syrian state television said a plane carrying Syria’s delegation to international peace talks in Switzerland today was “prevented from refuelling” after it landed at Athens airport.
The lengthy delay might force the cancellation of a planned meeting between Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moualem - who was on the plane - and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, state TV said.
Greece’s foreign ministry spokesman confirmed that the plane had been temporarily detained but had now been cleared for take-off, although Greek air traffic controllers said the plane was still in Athens.
Negotiations between president Bashar al-Assad and opposition figures to try and end a three-year conflict are due to start tomorrow in Switzerland following several days of disarray as world powers bickered over who would attend. “The delegation’s plane landed at Athens international airport and was prevented from refuelling,” Syrian television said, adding that all airspace permissions had previously been granted for the flight.
Greek foreign ministry spokesman Konstantinos Koutras said: “The issue has been settled, there was a small delay over formalities.”
“Everything is OK, it has been cleared for take-off,” he added, without giving details on the reason for the delay.
Earlier, the United Nations' decision to rescind the invitation to Iran to join this week's Syria peace talks was described as a mistake but not a catastrophe, by the Russian foreign minister.
Sergey Lavrov said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s decision to withdraw his last-minute offer to Iran to attend the conference would have a negative impact on the United Nations’ image.
Mr Lavrov, speaking at a news conference, reaffirmed Russia's argument that the presence of Iran was essential for the success of the conference which is set to begin in the Swiss resort of Montreux tomorrow.
Iran has been the main regional ally of Syrian president Bashar Assad, supporting his regime with advisers, money and materiel since the uprising began in 2011.
Agencies