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Turkey’s President says he will Retaliate against Syria for shooting down Jet

Earlier this week, Syria shot down a Turkish jet it claimed was in its airspace. Turkish president Abdullah Gul is promising retalition.

Via AP:

Turkey will take retaliatory steps against Syria for the downing of one of its military jets, President Abdullah Gul said Saturday, even as he suggested that the aircraft may have violated Syrian airspace.

It was not clear if Gul was suggesting military retaliation, increased sanctions against Syria or other possible steps, including demands for an apology, and his aide would not comment on his words. But Faruk Celik, Turkey’s Labor and Social Security Minister, said Turkey would retaliate “either in the diplomatic field or give other types of response.”

“Even if we assume that there was a violation of Syria’s airspace — though the situation is still not clear — the Syrian response cannot be to bring down the plane,” Celik told reporters.

“The incident is unacceptable,” he said. “Turkey cannot endure it in silence.”

Syria said Friday its forces had shot down a Turkish military plane that entered its air space. The plane, an unarmed F-4, went down in the Mediterranean Sea about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the Syrian town of Latakia, Turkey said.

Also raising tensions is the fact that both pilots remain missing.

h/t Hot Air

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