ISTANBUL - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his country has no intention of attacking Syria after a Turkish fighter jet was shot down by Damascus.
Erdogan made the statement at a ceremony to introduce Turkey's first domestically produced training jet HURKUS.
"We as Turkey and the Turkish nation have no intention of attacking. We are just making provisions to stave off all threats to our unity and integrity, I mean, for defense. We have never had an eye on the soil of any country. We have never had a hostile stance towards any country," he said. ? ?
"We respond to hostile behaviors, attacks and threats against us with all our strength, also with power and inspiration from our history, and we never hesitate to do whatever is necessary," the Turkish PM said.
Erdogan said at a Justice and Development Party meeting in Parliament on Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar al- Assad's regime "has become a clear and present danger to Turkey's security." Turkish Armed Forces have been given instructions to treat any approaching Syrian military units as threat.
Turkey said the incident would "not go unpunished," but also emphasized it does not intend to go to war with Syria.
Turkey has long criticized the Syrian regime for its crackdown on anti-regime protests.
Syria, however, described its shooting down of the Turkish F-4 jet as an act of self-defense.
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