MOSCOW — Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot says it is suspending flights to Syria's capital Damascus next month.
State-controlled Aeroflot has four flights to Damascus and is the only Russian airline currently operating direct Moscow-Damascus flights. The company’s spokeswoman Irina Dannenberg said Monday that Aeroflot will suspend the flights Aug. 6 for commercial reasons.
A 16-month uprising in Syria has morphed into a civil war has killed more than 19,000, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The escalating fighting is also feeding fears that Syria’s war could spill across borders and spark a regional conflagration.
Russia has been a long-time ally of Damascus and has supported it with arms supplies.
