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Ankara is increasing pressure on Russia's military presence in Syria with its decision to close its airspace until July to Russian civilian and military planes carrying troops to Syria.
Ankara gave no official reason for the move. While Ankara and Moscow back rival sides in the Syrian civil war, they have been cooperating in resolving the conflict.
Huseyin Bagci, head of the Turkish Foreign Policy Institute in Ankara, said the action comes as Turkey's shared opposition with its western allies towards Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the basis for Ankara to repair its strained relations with Washington and its NATO partners.
"It's an important decision. Turkish-American relations improved dramatically in this respect. Probably the Americans bilaterally and NATO as an institution insisted upon it. Trying to close the increasing influence of Russia in Syria and in the Middle East in general. It's, of course, not a decision the Russians would like to see," Bagci said.
