Foreign Minister: Czech plane grounded in Turkmenistan because of misunderstanding

Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra has said a misunderstanding was the reason why a Czech plane was grounded in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat for 14 hours during the weekend. Mr Vondra made the statement after meeting the head of the Turkmen delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Brussels, adding the Turkmen representative had emphasised his country's interest in friendly relations with the Czech Republic. Minister Vondra pointed out Czechs had officially taken over command at the international airport in the Afghan capital Kabul and friendly relations with Turkmenistan are in the Czech Republic's interest as well.

The Czech aircraft carried a delegation, including chief-of-staff General Pavel Stefka and deputy defence minister Martin Bartak. The President of Turkmenistan allowed the plane to return to Prague on Sunday morning.