Neck of the woods
“Turkey said its air force jet that disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea on Friday was shot down by Syria, in an action likely to worsen already strained relations between the neighboring countries. A statement following a two-hour security meeting led by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the warplane that went missing near Syria was downed by Syrian forces and that the two Turkish pilots remain missing. It said Turkey “will determinedly take necessary steps” in response, without saying what they would be…………”


The reason the Turks are being cautious in their reaction could be that it was the Russian defenses around the Russian naval base at Tartous that shot down the F-4. Al-Quds Al-Arabi from London hints that is a possibility, that there is speculation the Turks may have tried to test Russian and Syrian reaction on behalf of NATO. Either way the Syrian most likely had the green light from Moscow to take action. They would not have dared shoot at it unless it had penetrated their territory.
It also notes that Russia has supplied Syria with the S-300 air defense missiles, the same type that it canceled for Iran two years ago under Western pressure. No doubt the Turks are being cautious because of the Russian angle, given that the Syrian regime itself has little leverage internationally, is up the proverbial creek internationally.
Cheers
mhg
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