Syria Hits A Turkish F-4. There Will Be Consequences

NATO will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the downing of a Turkish jet by Syrian forces, a spokeswoman for the Atlantic Alliance said.

"Turkey has requested consultations under Article 4" of NATO's founding treaty, under which member countries can request a meeting if their security is threatened, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said, adding that the meeting would take place on Tuesday.


Turkey called for the meeting today after accusing Syria of shooting down one of its warplanes in international airspace.


Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on national television an investigation by Ankara into the incident concluded that its plane was "shot down in international airspace, 13 nautical miles from Syria".


Davutoglu said the plane was shot down shortly after it "momentarily violated Syrian airspace" but added that the unarmed plane, on a mission to test Turkey's radar defences, had posed no threat to Syria at any time.


Lungescu said, "Under Article 4, any ally can request consultations whenever, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. The North Atlantic Council will meet on Tuesday at Turkey's request. We expect Turkey to make a presentation on the recent incident."


Iran urged Ankara and Damascus to show "restraint" over Syria's shooting down of a Turkish fighter jet, Iranian state media reported today.


Tehran "asks both sides to show calm and restraint and hopes that with tact and tolerance and dialogue, this issue will be evaluated and through a peaceful resolution, tranquility and stability will be preserved in the region," Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying.


Iran is the staunchest ally of Syria, which is embroiled in a 15-month conflict UN officials fear has become a civil war.


Turkey, a NATO member, sits on the other side as a critic of Syrian President Bashar al Assad's crackdown on the unrest.


A Syrian anti-aircraft battery near the Turkish border on Friday shot down a Turkish Phantom warplane that Damascus said violated its airspace by flying in low and fast from the Mediterranean.


"According to our conclusions, our plane was shot down in international airspace," Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. "The plane did not show any sign of hostility toward Syria and was shot down about 15 minutes after having momentarily violated Syrian airspace."


The minister said that there was no warning from Syria before it shot down the plane, which did not have arms and was flying on a training mission and undertaking a radar system test.


"The Syrians knew full well that it was a Turkish military plane and the nature of its mission," he said.


Syria has said it took out the F-4 phantom jet on Friday after it violated its airspace, and on Saturday (local time) Turkey acknowledged that the plane may have done so in comments seen as a bid to cool tensions between the former allies.


In a statement issued after Syria confirmed it downed the plane, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would take all necessary steps once it established the facts.


NATO member Turkey has become a major critic of Syrian President Bashar al Assad over his brutal crackdown on opposition protests and rebel groups.


Turkey has taken in more than 30,000 civilians who fled the violence in Syria, housing them in camps near the border, according to foreign ministry figures.
Earlier this month, it hosted a key meeting of Syrian opposition activists.


Syria and Turkey said their navies were coordinating a search for the Phantom's two pilots.