Syria demanded that Turkey should return cargo seized from a passenger jet it intercepted en route from Moscow on suspicion it was carrying “illegal” cargo

Syria demanded that Turkey should return cargo seized from a passenger jet it intercepted en route from Moscow on suspicion it was carrying “illegal” cargo.
  
Turkey scrambled two jets on Wednesday to force down the Syrian Air Airbus A-320 en route from Moscow after reportedly receiving intelligence it was “carrying military cargo for the Assad regime.”
  
Damascus said the interception was "hostile and reprehensible" and "another sign of the hostile policies of the Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, which harbors (rebels) and bombs Syrian territory".
  
It demanded Turkey return the cargo it had seized at Ankara airport.

In an interview with a Turkish newspaper, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad called for a joint Turkish-Syrian investigation concerning shells being fired from Syria on Turkey. He said the matter needs cooperation from both sides.
       
“We didn't show hostility towards Turkey, our problem is with the government only,” Assad said.
  
Russia: Ankara Put Lives at Risk

Russia said Ankara had put the lives of passengers at risk by forcing it to land in the Turkish capital, and denied it was carrying arms or military equipment. "We are concerned that this emergency situation puts at risk the lives and safety of passengers, who included 17 Russian citizens," Russia's foreign ministry said.  "The Russian side continues to insist on an explanation of the reasons for such actions by the Turkish authorities."
 
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara had seized "illegal cargo" from the plane, adding Turkey would hold on to the cargo for further investigation but declining to elaborate on the contents. "There are elements on board that can be considered objectionable."
 
But an Al-Manar source said Turkey seized from the Syrian plane devices which are used to detect IEDs.

Turkish Airlines has stopped using Syrian airspace on their flights, a company executive told Anatolia news agency Thursday. "Turkish Airlines planes have not been using Syrian airspace for four days now," Hamdi Topcu, chairman of THY executive board, was quoted as saying The planes will continue to avoid Syrian skies and use alternative routes until a secondary safe line is established, he added.

Putin Postpones Turkey Trip

Russian President Vladimir Putin had postponed his visit to Turkey, which was scheduled for next week, until December 3.
  
"The third high-level cooperation council will take place on Dec 3 in Ankara... under the co-chairmanship of the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Russian president," a source from the Turkish Prime Minister's office told AFP Thursday.   

Earlier on Thursday Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told AFP that the visit had been postponed, but he refused to comment on the original date, which Turkish media gave as October 15.