The website of Russian state news agency Sputnik has been blocked in Turkey, its Turkish editor-in-chief said on Friday, April 15, a move that could further strain relations between Moscow and Ankara after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane last year, Reuters says.

"There is no access to sputniknews.com and subdomains from Turkey. We've sent a letter to the regulatory agency asking for the reasons. We were not expecting a ban at all," Mahir Boztepe told Reuters.

No one was immediately available for comment at the telecoms and internet regulatory agency, Reuters says.