The United States has noted “with disappointment” Turkey’s announcement that it would suspend Armenian airline overflight permissions, the U.S. Department of State said on Wednesday.

“The U.S. strongly supports Armenia-Turkey normalization, which we believe would be important for not just these two countries but helpful for stability across the region. We note with disappointment Turkey’s announcement that it would suspend Armenian airline overflight permissions,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told a press briefing.

"The agreement that had previously been reached between these two countries to resume air connections had been a very important confidence building measure not just between these two countries, but again, for regional stability broadly,” he said.

“It’s our sincere hope that Turkey and Armenia can continue to rebuild economic ties and open transportation links as well,” the spokesman added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara had shut its airspace to Armenian flights heading to a third destination in response to the unveiling of a monument in Yerevan last week.

The monument pays tribute to participants of Operation Nemesis, a 1920s program of assassinations of Ottoman Turkish perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide.