Assad regrets shooting down of Turkish fighter jet

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he wishes the shooting down of a Turkish military jet did not happen, and expressed hopes that growing tensions between the neighboring countries would not escalate into an armed conflict. Speaking to the media almost two weeks after the incident took place, Assad explained that the action of Syrian forces was such because the fighter jet used a route similar to that used by Israeli planes in the past.  He called on Turkey to keep communication channels open, and said that Syrian-Turkish relations have been “completely severed at the highest level.” Syrian military forces shot down the Turkish F-4 phantom jet on June 22 after it had entered Syrian airspace. Turkey admits the incursion but insists that the mistake was quickly corrected. Turkey has since amped up its military presence along its border and has changed its military rules of engagement to treat any military approach by Syria as a potential threat that would be “dealt with accordingly.”

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