ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey told Syria that it is ready to act again in defense of its borders after shooting down a Syrian warplane said to have flown into its territory.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday that the incursion should not be repeated, as the military justified Sunday’s action by Turkish combat aircraft against a Syrian MiG-23 that had ignored four warnings and briefly penetrated 0.6 miles into Turkish airspace, according to a statement. A Syrian SA-5 surface-to-air missile system locked on a Turkish F-16 for more than four minutes during a border patrol Sunday, the military said, without elaborating.

Davutoglu said there was ample evidence to justify Turkish action and that the decision had brought an expression of solidarity from its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which has missile batteries in the border area.

“Turkey will respond to any violation of its borders,” Davutoglu said. “No one should dare to test power of Turkey.”

News of the shooting down was announced Sunday by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during campaigning for closely watched local elections March 30. Erdogan, who vacationed with Syria’s leader Bashar Assad before the two fell out over Syria’s civil war, told thousands of cheering supporters that Turkey’s response would be “heavier if you violate my airspace again.”

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Sunday that while one of two Syrian warplanes had heeded Turkish warnings and turned back, the other continued flying over Turkish airspace and, “consequently, our air force engaged the aircraft in line with our rights under international law,” the ministry said.

Syria’s official SANA news agency cited an unidentified military official as saying Sunday that the plane was shot down while pursuing terrorists inside Syrian territory. Erdogan’s government supports rebels fighting to topple Assad. The MiG crashed inside Syria and the pilot survived, Syrian state TV said Sunday.

Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to retaliate for any violation of Turkey’s sovereignty since Syrian forces shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet in June 2012, killing two pilots. Turkey downed a Syrian helicopter that entered its airspace in September, and has used artillery batteries to engage targets inside Syria in response to shells that have hit Turkish frontier towns and villages.

Tensions with Syria are rising as Erdogan seeks to stave off allegations of corruption against his government. The premier accuses a former ally, an Islamic preacher now based in the U.S., of fabricating the allegations to weaken him before a series of elections.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.