Turkish FM talks to Ban Ki-moon, Rasmussen over Syrian military jet shooting

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Turkish FM Davutoğlu spoke with Rasmussen and Ban to discuss the developments after the jet was shot down. AA Photo

A Syrian jet, which was shot down by Turkish forces on March 23 for violating its airspace, was discussed early March 24 in separate phone calls between Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
      
Davutoğlu spoke with Rasmussen and Ban to discuss the developments after the jet was shot down.

Turkish fighter jets downed a Syrian jet on March 23 after it crossed into Turkish airspace, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced during a pre-election rally in Kocaeli.

“They [Syrian jets] violated our borders, our airspace. Our F-16s took off and downed a plane,” Erdoğan told thousands of voters gathered to watch him speak. “Our response will be heavy if our airspace is violated. I congratulate our armed forces, our honorable pilots and particularly our chief of general staff.”
      
Two Syrian MIG-23 fighter aircrafts approached Turkey’s airspace along the Turkish-Syrian border around 13.00 p.m. While one of the planes diverted its course after four warnings, the other plane violated Turkey’s airspace at 13:13 pm by about a kilometer. It then continued to head west and flew in Turkish airspace for about one and a half kilometer, said the office of the Turkish Chief of Staff. The pilot of the downed aircraft reportedly survived the incident, having evacuated with a parachute.

Syria denied that its jet had violated Turkish airspace and accused Turkey of “flagrant aggression.”