Erdogan: Turkey Has No Intention of Attacking Syria

Local Editor

The two-man crew is still missing.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey has no intention of attacking Syria over its recent downing of the F4 fighter jet which violated the Syrian airspace last week.
The two-man crew is still missing.
"As Turkey, the Turkish nation, we have no intention of attacking" Syria, Erdogan said during a military ceremony in Ankara.
"We don't have any hostile intent towards any country," Erdogan added.

Erdogan was once a friend and ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But their relations have broken down since the security situation deteriorated in Syria last year.
Meanwhile, analysts believe that Turkey has no war plans for Syria despite rhetoric.
Days after the Phantom F-4 jet was brought down by Syrian defenses, Erdogan’s declaration came a day after he branded Syria "a clear and imminent threat" and promised a harsher military response to any border violation.
Wednesday's newspapers headlined Ankara's hardening attitude, with the Milliyet daily saying, "Syria is now a de facto enemy."
"You can categorize a country as an enemy but this doesn't mean that you are in a hot conflict with that country," said political analyst Professor Sedat Laciner of the Ankara-based think tank USAK.
"Turkey has no intention of translating this tension into a war,” he added.
Meeting in Brussels Tuesday at Turkey's request, NATO rallied behind Ankara, condemned Damascus for shooting down the Phantom, but made no mention of possible intervention.

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