ISTANBUL — Buoyed by support from his country’s NATO allies, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Syrian forces Tuesday to stay clear of their troubled border or face a military response to any perceived threat, after the disputed downing of a Turkish warplane.
The Turkish leader’s bellicose tone came as ambassadors from the NATO alliance, seeking to avoid a wider conflict, held emergency talks in Brussels at Turkey’s behest. After the meeting, the NATO secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said the alliance considered Syria’s actions in shooting down a Turkish warplane Friday “unacceptable.”
In a unanimous statement, the NATO allies called the episode “another example of the Syrian authorities’ disregard for international norms, peace and security and human life.”
Turkey is a member of the alliance.
“I would certainly expect that such an incident won’t happen again,” Rasmussen said at a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He added that the alliance would closely follow developments and “if necessary, consult and discuss what else could be done.”
In Ankara, Erdogan said Turkey had revised its military rules of engagement toward Syria.
“Every military element that approaches the Turkish border from Syria in a manner that constitutes a security risk or danger would be considered as a threat and would be treated as a military target,” he said in a speech to lawmakers attended by Arab diplomats.
“From here, we warn the Syrian regime not to make any mistakes, not to test Turkey’s decisiveness and wisdom,” Erdogan said. “If there is anyone who could not understand this up until today, we would and will prove in the most clear and determined way that Turkey cannot be challenged.”
Although Syria maintains that the plane was brought down well within its airspace, Turkey says the two-seat F-4 fighter plane was attacked over international waters after straying briefly into Syrian space.
“Our plane was targeted not by mistake but deliberately, entirely in an act of hostility,” Erdogan said. “At a time, place and method defined by itself, Turkey will make use of its rights that derive from international law and firmly take necessary steps against this injustice.”
He did not say what those steps might be.
In calling for the meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, Turkey said it was invoking Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which provides for consultations by the allies when one of them is attacked or threatened.
