NATO Convenes Art. 4 Meeting On Syrian 'Agression'

NATO condemnation to be sought over downed F-4 Phantom jet

ANKARA (Hürriyet) – As NATO convenes with the agenda of Syria’s shooting of Turkey’s plane, Ankara seeks strong messages of solidarity and condemnation from the body.

Turkey seeks strong messages of solidarity and condemnation from NATO against Syria at today’s meeting, with demands from allies to provide technical assistance for further investigation into the incident. Turkey in particular demands radar tracks and other sorts of evidence from American and British military bases located in the region, especially from Britain’s bases in south Cyprus.

According to information the Hürriyet Daily News gathered from diplomatic sources, detailed technical information will be represented during permanent representatives’ meeting at the NATO headquarters. A statement is expected to be issued after the meeting similar to those which have come from some member countries in the last 24 hours.

Today’s NATO meeting is the beginning of a comprehensive campaign to make the issue of the downed Turkish jet an international matter. The issue will be brought up to the United Nations and some other relevant bodies as well. The Arab League and Organization of Islamic Conference are other venues Turkey plans to apply to.

ACT OF DEFENCE

“The plane disappeared and then reappeared in Syrian airspace, flying at 100 meters altitude and about 1-2kms (0.6-1.2 miles) from the Syrian coast,” Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told a Damascus news conference. Syria warned Turkey and NATO against retaliating.

“We had to react immediately, even if the plane was Syrian we would have shot it down,” he said. “The Syrian response was an act of defense of our sovereignty carried out by anti-aircraft machinegun which has a maximum range of 2.5 km.”

Russian-Soviet Point Defence Weapons

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Syria’s downing of Turkish jet unlikely to pull NATO into Syrian conflict

(CS Monitor) – Syria’s downing of a Turkish fighter-bomber has the feel of a turning point that could drag Western powers into a conflict that is spiraling out of control.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has vowed to hold Syria to account, while Britain’s foreign minister William Hague said Damascus won’t be allowed to act with impunity. But for all the hard talk, the prospect of Western military intervention in Syria remains remote, at best.

Turkish officials have said the jet mistakenly strayed into Syrian airspace, but was warned to leave by Turkish authorities and was a mile (1.6 kilometers) inside international airspace when Syria shot it down. The Turkish pilots are still missing.