Syrian President Bashar Assad said Tuesday, that he regrets the shooting down of the Turkish F-4 Phantom jet on June 22 and pledged to do everything possible to avoid a conflict between the two countries.
In an interview with a Turkish daily, Assad said that he would have apologized if the plane hadn’t been flying in Syrian airspace.
"Syria would not shy away from apologizing if it emerged that the plane was shot down in international airspace"
"Anti-aircraft defenses forces shot it down because they did not see it on our radar and because no information was given, as the plane was using a corridor which Israeli planes have used three times before. Of course I might have been happy if this had been an Israeli plane," Assad said in an interview with Cumhuriyet published Tuesday.
After the incident, Turkey pulled additional troops, artillery and air defense systems to the Syrian border. Also, Turkish jets have been put on alert in the event if Syrian copters approach the border.
However, Syrian President said that Syria had not amassed and would not amass military forces along the Turkish border, whatever action Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government takes.
Assad also sent his condolences to the families of the two pilots of the downed plane, who have not been found.
Furthermore, Assad told the Turkish Cumhuriyet reporter that he would be prepared to resign without delay if his resignation guaranteed the end of the crisis in Syria.
The Syrian leader made it clear that he ignored Washington’s demands that he should resign because he considered the US a country hostile towards Syria.
Meanwhile, State news agency, SANA, said that president Bashar Assad issued on Monday three laws that impose heavy penalties to those who commit "terrorist" acts in order to change the nature of the regime.
In related news, AFP news reported that a Syrian general from an artillery division and seven officers were among 85 soldiers, mostly serving in Homs province fled to Turkey on Monday.
But a Turkish official said the group included three colonels and there was no general among them.
On the ground, two members of the Syrian border police were injured Monday when a rocket fired from Lebanese territory, said a statement from the Lebanese General Security. This is the first time that shots against Syrian territory from Lebanon reported since the crisis in Syria started.
On Sunday, 79 people died in violence, including 38 civilians, 28 soldiers and 13 rebels.
Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/20 12/07/03/224145.html
