AP/AP - Turkish coast guard searches for the Turkish warplane which was downed by Syria on Friday off Samandagi in Hatay province in the eastern Mediterranean, Sunday, June 24, 2012.
By Liz Sly, Updated: Monday, June 25, 4:02 AM
The Washington Post
BEIRUT — Turkey on Sunday summoned its NATO allies for consultations over the shooting down by Syria of one of its planes over the Mediterranean last week, in a move that potentially opens the door to international military intervention in the Syria crisis for the first time. Turkey said it had invoked Article 4 of the NATO charter after concluding that the plane, a U.S.-made F-4 fighter jet, was over international waters when it was hit by an anti-aircraft missile fired by Syrian forces on Friday.
Video: Conflict in Syria: Violence continues in the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Investigations into the shooting suggested it was not an accident or a mistake, and that Syria was fully aware that it was shooting down a Turkish plane when the jet was targeted by at least two surface to air missiles, Turkish officials said. A search continues in the eastern Mediterranean for the two pilots, who have missing since the jet was downed.
“It was an act of war,” said Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal. “They shot down a plane over international waters and it is unacceptable.” Turkey has sent a diplomatic note to Syria reminding Damascus that under international law Turkey “reserves the right to respond,” he said.
The incident sent tensions soaring between two neighbors already at odds over the 15-month old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule, and raised regional concerns that the armed conflict in Syria risks spilling beyond its borders.
It also presented Turkey with a dilemma at a time when an effort to aid the rebel Free Syrian Army is gearing up along the Turkish border, in collaboration with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United States. A conflict with Syria now could rapidly spiral into a regional war, yet few in the international community have expressed any appetite for military intervention.
Though immediate military action seems unlikely and Western nations have said they oppose military intervention in Syria, Turkey’s summons puts the Syria crisis on NATO’s agenda for the first time since the uprising began, and as such “it is very significant,” said Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar.
“The preferred option for everyone including the United States is still a political solution,” he said. “But whereas a few days ago a military option was not on the cards, now it will be discussed in a way it hasn’t been for the past year and a half. It activates NATO, which we haven’t seen before.”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a statement called Syria’s shooting down of the jet “yet another reflection of the Syrian authorities’ callous disregard for international norms, human life, and peace and security.”
She said the United States would work with Turkey and “other partners to hold the Assad regime accountable.”
NATO spokeswoman Lungescu Oana said the ambassadors of the alliance’s 28 member states will meet in Brussels on Tuesday, under the terms of Article 4 and at Turkey’s request, to hear a Turkish presentation on the incident.
“Under Article 4, any ally can request consultations whenever, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened,” she said in a statement.
***
52 Comments
Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
conbenho
Tiểu Muội quantu
Nguyễn Hoài Trang
25062012
___________
CSVN là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
No comments:
Post a Comment