"If anyone --
in this case our Greek and Bulgarian partners -- has any doubts, then they, of
course, should explain what the problem is," deputy foreign minister
Mikhail Bogdanov told the Interfax news agency.
"If we are
talking about them taking some sort of restrictive or prohibitive measures on
the Americans' request, then this raises questions about their sovereign right
to take decisions about planes from other countries -- Russia in
particular -- crossing their air space," he said.
"We explain
where our planes are flying to, and what their purpose and their cargo
is," he added.
He said that
ferrying cargo, which included humanitarian and military aid, through the
airspace of a third party -- as well as obtaining permission to do so -- should
be a routine procedure.
"We've never
had any problems before," he said.
Earlier on Tuesday,
NATO member Bulgaria
confirmed it had refused permission late last night for an unspecified number
of Russian aircraft to cross its airspace.
It said it was
examining the US
request but gave no further details.
Bogdanov reiterated
Moscow 's official position, stressing that the
only Russian military personnel currently in Syria were there to train the local
army.
"Our partners
-- representatives of the Syrian armed forces -- need some help and
guidance," he said.
He denied Russia had any plans to boost its presence in
the war-torn country and turn its naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartus into a fully-fledged base.
"We do not
have such plans," he said.
Bogdanov said the
current military cooperation between Syria
and Russia
was "rather modest" compared to previous years.
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