Turkey to consult NATO allies after Syria jet incident

Turkey’s foreign minister says a jet shot down by Syria was in international airspace.

The aircraft was on a training flight testing Turkey’s radar capabilities and had strayed into Syrian airspace for a few moments earlier, according to Ahmet Davutoğlu.

He has already spoken with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and says Turkey will formally consult with its NATO allies on how to respond to the incident.

“Our plane had no mission in Syria and wasn’t gathering information on Syria. Before it was brought down, there was no warning from Syria. The aircraft was unarmed and clearly identified. According to our findings, the jet was shot down in international airspace, 13 nautical miles, which is 24 kilometres from Syria,” said Davutoğlu.

Turkish news channels are reporting that parts of the F-4 Phantom have been found in Syrian waters.

The Syrian military has admitted shooting down the plane over the Mediterranean Sea.

The search continues for the two pilots, with the navies of both Turkey and Syria looking for the men.

The relationship between Ankara and Damascus has been frosty since the violence began in Syria over a year ago and there are now over 30,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey.

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