Davutoglu criticizes Syria over jet attack

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu dismissed on Sunday the statements made by Syria that a military jet downed on Friday was in Syrian territorial waters, saying the unarmed plane was shot down in international airspace without warning while on a solo mission to test Turkey's radar system and that the mission had no connection with the crisis in the neighboring country. Speaking in an interview with state broadcaster TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation), Davutoglu said he would present the incident formally to the NATO military alliance this week under Article 4 of its founding treaty, which provides for states to "consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened." Davutoglu added that Turkey would also take the matter to the UN Security Council. "In addition, a notification will be made to the UN Security Council in light of the information we have regarding the background to this aggressive attitude," Davutoglu said. Syria has said the plane was flying fast and low, just a kilometer off the Syrian coast when it was shot down. Damascus reiterated on Sunday that the shooting of the plane was not a hostile act. Davutoglu, however, dismissed Syria’s explanation, saying Damascus was transmitting "disinformation" to the Turkish public. He said the Turkish plane briefly violated the Syrian airspace but more than 10 minutes before it was shot down. "Our plane was shot at a distance of 13 nautical miles from Syria’s border in international airspace," Davutoglu said, adding that in order to conduct the radar test the plane had to fly at a low altitude. "According to the radar images, our plane lost contact with headquarters after it was hit, and because the pilot lost control, it crashed into Syrian waters after making abnormal movements," he said. "Throughout this entire period, no warning was made to our plane." In reference to Syria’s response, Davutoglu said, "It is either amateurish behavior or ill-intention to describe the Turkish plane as a threat." He also added that Turkish intelligence intercepted radio communications from the Syrian side, suggesting that they knew it was a Turkish plane. Despite the tension, Turkey has conducted search and rescue efforts within the Syrian territorial waters, but Davutoglu said although the search operations were in coordination with the Syrians, they could not be characterized as a "joint" operation.