Turkey responds angrily to Syria's downing of one of its military jets. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Damascus of a "hostile" and "heinous act", announcing that from today the rules of engagement of the Turkish armed forces have changed: Ankara will react to any violation of the border. Erdogan added that the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, "has become a clear imminent threat to Turkey's security".
As for the downed jet, the premier said that the violation of Syrian airspace occurred "by mistake" and was very brief. The Turkish aircraft was carrying out a reconnaissance flight to test Turkish radars and was not armed. Erdogan then underlined that “since January 114 to today, Turkish airspace has been violated XNUMX times by various aircraft; and in five cases it was invaded by Syrian helicopters”.
Meanwhile, NATO has condemned Syria for the shooting down of the jet, which it described as "unacceptable", and has asked Damascus to take measures to prevent further accidents. "NATO allies have strongly condemned this absolutely unacceptable act," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after today's meeting, adding that NATO's security is "indivisible".
