UPDATE: Russia bans flights of Tajik airline in response to Yamal dispute

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MOSCOW/DUSHANBE, Dec 23 (PRIME) -- Russia has suspended flights of Tajik airline Somon Air to regions starting from Friday as Tajik authorities failed to coordinate flights of Russian airline Yamal to Tajikistan from the Moscow Region’s Zhukovsky airport, the Transport Ministry said late Thursday.

“In violation of the agreement on air travel between the two countries and the November 7, 2016 protocol, the Tajik side failed to coordinate the flights of Russia’s designated Yamal air carrier from the Zhukovsky airport,” a spokesperson for the ministry told PRIME.

“In response, the Russian side suspends the flights of Tajik airline Somon Air to Russian regions starting at midnight on December 23 (Friday).”

The ban does not affect flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg, the ministry said.

The Transport Ministry said late Wednesday that Russia would suspend air travel with Tajikistan on Thursday due to the lack of consensus on the Yamal airline, but in an hour the ministry said that the countries had coordinated the flights and air travel will not be suspended, while talks will continue on Thursday.

Tajikistan’s Transport Ministry has been notified of Russia’s decision to suspend flights of Somon Air and expects to continue talks with Russia on Friday.

On Friday, the Tajik authorities cancelled flights of Russia’s Urals Airlines from Russian cities of Krasnodar, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, and Krasnoyarsk as a response measure.

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