Turkey will consult NATO over shooting down of plane by Syria

Liz Sly
Washington Post
June 24, 2012

BEIRUT — Turkey said on Sunday that it will consult its NATO allies next week over how to respond to the shooting down by Syria of a Turkish plane after inquiries showed that the plane was over international waters when the incident occurred.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu disputed Syria’s version of the event, telling state broadcaster TRT that the plane bore clear Turkish markings and was not in Syrian airspace when it was shot down without warning by Syria on Friday.

In Brussels, a NATO spokeswoman said NATO will meet on Tuesday after Turkey invoked article 4 of the NATO charter, which gives any member state the right to “request consultations whenever, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened,” Turkish media reported.

According to Syria’s account of the incident, the plane was flying at high speed and low altitude towards Syria and was over Syrian territorial waters when it was brought down by anti-aircraft artillery.

Full article here

This article was posted: Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 3:21 pm

Tags: foreign affairs, war

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