Makdessi: No hostile intentions towards Turkey

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi told LBCI: "We have no hostile intentions towards Turkey and coordination is ongoing over the downed fighter jet's pilots".

Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Saturday that Syria's downing of a Turkish plane marks a serious escalation of the Syrian conflict.
   
"The shooting down yesterday of a Turkish aircraft over Syrian territorial waters - this is a serious escalation and indication that the conflict would have far (a) bigger impact than (on) Syria itself," he told a televised news conference with his Swedish, Bulgarian and Polish counterparts in Baghdad.

Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes Turkey and Syria will exercise restraint over Syria's downing of a Turkish jet fighter over the Mediterranean, his spokesman said on Saturday.
   
"The secretary-general is following the situation closely. He hopes this serious incident can be handled with restraint by both sides through diplomatic channels," Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said in an emailed statement.

In turn, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said it was not possible to ignore the fact that Syria had shot down a Turkish fighter jet and said everything that needed to be done following the incident would be done, Turkish media reported.
   
Gul said it was routine for jets travelling at high speed to cross borders for a short distance. He said an investigation into the incident would look at whether the plane was downed in Turkish airspace, media reported.
   
Gul also said Ankara had been in telephone contact with Damascus and that a search operation for the plane and missing pilots was still under way.

Separately, Turkish media reported that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will hold a second security meeting with senior officials on Saturday over a Turkish jet shot down by Syria a day earlier.
   
The meeting will be Erdogan's second security meeting over the incident in less than 24 hours and follows a separate meeting between Turkey's foreign minister and senior military commanders.

Syria said Friday it shot down a Turkish military plane that entered Syrian air space, and Turkey vowed to "determinedly take necessary steps" in response.                     
Late Friday, Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, said the military spotted an "unidentified aerial target" that was flying at a low altitude and at a high speed. "The target turned out to be a Turkish military plane that entered Syrian airspace and was dealt with according to laws observed in such cases."    
           
Turkey issued a statement Friday night following a two-hour security meeting led by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying Syrian forces downed the plane and that the two Turkish pilots remain missing.                   

AP/REUTERS/LBCI