Drone threat diverts Armenian PM's plane from Moscow to St. Petersburg — press chief

The aircraft carrying Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was forced to land in St. Petersburg during the night of December 10 to 11 due to the temporary closure of Russian airspace, before continuing its flight to Moscow in the morning, the premier’s Press Secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, said on Facebook.

She said the government jet could not land in Moscow because the airspace was closed at the time, Caliber.Az reports.

“The government aircraft carrying Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was unable to land in Moscow overnight due to the temporary closure of the airspace. The plane diverted to St. Petersburg and safely landed at Pulkovo Airport," she posted.

“In the morning, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resumed his journey and departed for Moscow, where he will attend the regular meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, as well as an international conference on cooperation in science and technology,” Baghdasaryan wrote.

Caliber.Az recalls that Prime Minister Pashinyan's plane was unable to land in Moscow due to the closed airspace. According to media reports, the government plane circled over the Tver region for almost an hour, but did not receive permission to land due to the threat of a UAV attack — a total of over 170 flights were delayed.

By Khagan Isayev