Israel Matzav

Downed Turkish plane an accident?

A spokesman for the Syrian foreign ministry is now claiming that the downing of a Turkish F-4 fighter jet on a reconnaissance mission off the coast of Latakia on Friday was an accident.

In a telephone interview with Turkish TV news channel A Haber on Saturday, Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said the downing of Turkey's F-4 plane was an “accident, not an attack.”

“An unidentified object entered our air space and unfortunately as a result it was brought down. It was understood only later that it was a Turkish plane,” A Haber quoted Mr. Makdissi as saying in a translation of the interview. “There was no hostile act against Turkey whatsoever. It was just an act of defence for our sovereignty.”

The plane went down in the Mediterranean Sea near Syria, and its two Turkish pilots remain missing.

“What is important now is that Turkey and Syria are working together to find the pilots,” Mr. Makdissi said.

The Turks disagree.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul and other officials said Saturday that their government is trying to assess the exact circumstances of the incident and would take unspecified retaliatory steps accordingly. Mr. Gul conceded that Turkish aircraft may have unintentionally violated Syrian airspace.

It was not clear if Turkey was contemplating military retaliation, increased sanctions, or other possible steps, including demands for compensation or an apology. But Faruk Celik, the Turkish Labor and Social Security Minister, said his nation would retaliate “either in the diplomatic field or give other types of response.”

“Even if we assume that there was a violation of Syria's airspace — though the situation is still not clear — the Syrian response cannot be to bring down the plane,” Mr. Celik told reporters. “The incident is unacceptable. Turkey cannot endure it in silence.”

Maybe they'll demand an apology. Heh.

Labels: Syria, Syrian uprising, Turkey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:21 AM