NATO Weighs Response to Syria's Downing of Military Jet

NATO envoys are considering their response to Syria's downing of a Turkish military jet last week. 

Turkey requested Tuesday's meeting in Brussels following the attack it says happened in international airspace. Syria calls the incident an act of self-defense.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to give more details of his country's response Tuesday during remarks to lawmakers in parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has said Turkey does not want to go to war over the incident, but that it has the right to retaliate under international law.

In addition to its NATO appeal, Turkey has condemned the Friday attack in a letter to the United Nations Security Council, saying the act "poses a significant threat to peace and security in the region."

The Security Council is scheduled to hear a briefing Tuesday from the deputy head of the U.N. supervisor mission in Syria as well as U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous.

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said Monday a Syrian anti-aircraft machine gun fired on the Turkish jet in self-defense as it was flying low along the Syrian coast in violation of his country's sovereignty. He said the machine gun has a maximum range of 2.5 kilometers.

Turkey has said its plane inadvertently entered Syrian airspace for a brief period before leaving and then being struck by Syrian fire.

Makdissi said Syria remains committed to neighborly relations with Turkey. But he also warned Ankara and other NATO members against considering hostile action against Syria, saying they should be mindful that Syrian land, territorial waters and airspace are "sacred."