Syria claims shooting of Turkish plane was 'an accident'

Damascus, June 24 (ANI): Seeking to resolve tensions with Turkey over the shooting down of a Turkish plane by its air defences, Syria has insisted that it was 'an accident'.

A Syrian Government spokesman said the aircraft was an 'unidentifiable object', adding that the Syrian military had only realized later that it was a Turkish F-4 jet.

"We do not want any tension with Ankara," The Telegraph quoted Jihad Makdissi, the Syrian Governemnt's foreign affairs spokesman, as saying.

"Hopefully, we can transcend this issue swiftly. All I can say is that the announcement I have made is Syria's official stance; there is in no way any animosity felt towards Turkey and the Turkish public," Makdissi added.

Some Turkish politicians have branded the shooting down of the plane as an 'act of war'.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul conceded that the Turkish plane could have crossed into Syria's airspace, but there was no reason for the Syrian military to have interpreted the move as a hostile act.

The Turkish Government has promised a 'decisive response' to the incident.

Gul said: "Whatever is necessary will be done."

Faruk Celik, Turkey's Labor and Social Security Minister, said Turkey would retaliate 'either in the diplomatic field or give other types of response'. (ANI)