Europe, Turkey close airspace to Russian warplanes fighting Daesh

Konovalov told Sputnik news agency that Russian pilots had to leave for Syria from Russia's northernmost Olenegorsk military airport in order to bypass Europe and then cross the Mediterranean Sea toward Syria. 'There were certain issues that excluded the possibility of performing the tasks by other means. Europe would not allow us, Turkey would not allow us,' Konovalov said. He said that even in such circumstances, Russia's Long-Range Aviation proved its capability to perform the assigned tasks. Russia has been conducting airstrikes on positions of ISIL, a group outlawed in many countries including Russia, in Syria since late September at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Source: IRNA