Turkey has no plans to war with Syria

Turkey is not going to war with neighbouring Syria over the shooting down of a Turkish warplane, PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday, though analysts expect a higher risk of clashes on the border, according to AFP.Days after the Phantom F-4 jet was brought down by Syrian defences, leaving its two crew missing, Erdogan said Turkey has no hostile intent towards any country."As Turkey, the Turkish nation, we have no intention of attacking Syria, " he was quoted as saying at a military ceremony in Ankara.His declaration came a day after he branded Syria "a clear and imminent threat" and promised a harsher military response to any border violation.Analysts dismissed the prospects of a war but warned of escalating tensions on Turkey's 910-kilometre (560-mile) southern border with Syria."You can categorise 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-b ased think tank USAK."Turkey has no intention of translating this tension into a war but it is apparent that the Turkish-Syrian border has turned into a frontier that may see stray attacks in the future," he stressed.In a much-awaited speech in in parliament Tuesday, Erdogan announced that that the rules of engagement of the Turkish armed forces had changed after what he said was a "hostile act" by Syria testing Turkey's military capability.Any action by Syria posing a risk on the border will be "considered a threat and treated as a military target," he said."Tension is going to rise at the border," said Hugh Pope of the International Crisis Group."But I don't think Turkey wants to send troops into Syria. The only option for Turkey is to be part of an international initiative," he noted.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 interv ention.Erdogan said Turkey would take the necessary steps in line with its rights under international law, remarks interpreted by observers as a threat of unilateral action independent of any decisions to be taken by NATO or the United Nations.   Read more... (360 words)

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