Al-Assad: I wish the Turkish jet shootdown didn't happen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, pictured here on June 3, 2012, said the Turkish people "are our brothers". (CNN) -- Syria's besieged leader says he regrets his soldiers shot down a Turkish jet last month but insisted they reasoned the plane belonged to Israel. "I would not wish it for any plane other than an enemy one. Especially for a Turkish plane, I say 100%, if only we did not shoot it down," President Bashar al-Assad told Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper in an interview published Tuesday. "The Turkish people are our brothers and something that would make them sad would never make me happy and it did not. If this was an Israeli plane, of course, I would have been happy." The June 22 shootdown of a Turkish F-4 Phantom jet came after Israeli planes used the same air corridor three other times, al-Assad said. Israel and Syria are longtime adversaries. "A plane coming from that side is perceived by the Syrian military as an Israeli plane. It was accepted as an enemy plane, reacted against fast and fired at," he said. "Since we couldn't see it on our radars and no information was given either, the soldiers downed it. We learned that it belonged to Turkey after shooting it down." Torture allegedly widespread in Syria A Syrian military defector Activists report massacre in Duma Rather: Opposition 'disgusted' with U.N. As a result, al-Assad said, the downing should be seen as "temporary and one that should not be exaggerated." The shootdown underscores rising tensions between the two nations over Syria's nearly 16-month-long government crackdown and the resultant grass-roots uprising against the regime. Syria and Turkey acknowledged the plane strayed into Syrian airspace, but Turkey said the incursion was accidental and quickly corrected. Turkey's National Security Council said last week the nation would act against "hostile action" by Syria. Turkey also bolstered its forces along the border. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was changing its military rules of engagement and would treat a military approach toward its borders by Syria as a potential threat that "will be dealt with accordingly." NATO also deplored the shootdown, but the alliance, of which Turkey is a member, did not promise any action in response to the incident. Turkish officials said Tuesday that they had scrambled jet fighters Monday to track Syrian helicopters flying near the border between the two countries. It was the third straight day Turkish officials sent jets to intercept Syrian helicopters closing in on the border, according to the Turkish armed forces. There were no shots fired and no direct confrontation incidents. A search for the pilots of the downed jet in June was ongoing. The wreckage of the plane also has not been located. The Turkish government, once close with al-Assad, has been sharply critical of the Syrian leader's clampdown against his citizens. Turkey -- which borders Syria -- has slammed al-Assad's rule and is hosting thousands of Syrian refugees and anti-Assad opposition groups. Al-Assad criticized what he views as Erdogan's "dangerous" posturing after what was an understandable military move. "In an environment like this, arrival of such a plane is naturally perceived as an enemy plane. Anyone who understands military matters a bit would know this. A country at war would behave this way anywhere in the world. This is absolutely not a political decision. However, unfortunately the Erdogan government is after narrow calculations using this incident. He hasn't gotten the Turkish people's support for 15 months about the Syria policy. Now, he wants to use this incident as an opportunity to turn the animosity between governments to animosity between the people. This is very dangerous," he said. Despite the tensions, al-Assad makes a distinction between the Turkish government and Israel, its longtime adversary. He doesn't see Turkey as an "enemy, and said Syria would have no reason to shoot down a plane from Turkey." "One has to ask logical questions here. There are two options. Either we downed the plane knowingly as they claim. Or we downed it by mistake outside the Syrian airspace. If it was downed by mistake outside Syria there is no problem with this. We would say this and formally apologize to Turkey. The Turkish people would show their understanding for this. "If we were to hit it intentionally, one has to ask this: What kind of gain would Syria get from downing a Turkish plane? If we were to perceive Turkey and a Turkish plane as enemy, we would say that clearly. We would say it came and we downed it, but we don't see (Turkey) as enemy. I have not seen the friendship that I received from the Turkish people for the last 10 years from anyone else. Why would I take a step now, which would lead to their animosity?" Al-Assad also criticized Turkey for cutting off ties between its army and Syria's. That hurt communication after the downing, he said. "We would have handled the matter between military officials," he said. "However, in the recent months we do not even have a telephone number anymore of a Turkish commander to call in case of an emergency. "As we got the news that this plane was downed, Turkey said one of its planes was lost. After Turkey made this statement, that is after the information that a plane was lost arrived, we said 'this is a Turkish plane.' No Turkish officials called us. We called them," he said. And Al-Assad said that despite Turkey's change in its rules of engagement, "we have not and will not mass along the Turkish border." "The Turkish people are our friend and they will understand us. It doesn't matter if the Turkish government has animosity towards Syria. If the Turkish people start feeling animosity, then that means there is a problem." Asked about under what conditions he would leave his position, al-Assad said,"If millions of people in my country don't want me, of course I would go. Why would I sit where I am not wanted?" Global disgust over the Syrian regime's purported torture of citizens reached a pinnacle Tuesday. According to a report published by Human Rights Watch, the Syrian regime has been carrying out "a state policy of torture" as part of an effort to crush dissent. The group identified 27 detention centers across Syria where torture was systematically inflicted on prisoners, citing more than 200 former prisoners and security officers who defected. The carnage in Syria has spiked in the past two days, with at least 109 people killed Sunday and 114 people killed Monday, opposition activists said. At least 47 deaths have been recorded on Tuesday, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. CNN cannot independently confirm the reports of casualties or violence because Syria restricts access by international journalists. As violence rages in Syria, diplomats continued to search for ways to resolve the problem. World powers huddled Saturday in Geneva, Switzerland, to come up with steps to end the crisis. Ahmad Fawzi, spokesman for Kofi Annan, the U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria, called the meeting "an accomplishment," with all parties coming together to agree on the need for a transitional governing body in Syria. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, he said Russia and China, which have pushed back on tough world action against al-Assad's regime, "will put their full backing behind this agreement and do whatever they can do." "We are appealing to the parties to take a deep breath and step back from the brink and look long and hard at the proposals on the table because they form a framework for a solution," he said. The international group meeting in Switzerland agreed that both the regime and opposition fighters should immediately adopt a cease-fire and implement Annan's six-point peace plan without waiting for the actions of others. The transitional government could include members of the current Syrian regime, making it theoretically possible that al-Assad will be a part of the transition. Annan pointed out it is the Syrians who will decide the makeup. Fawzi stressed the challenge of forging peace, saying "nobody said it was going to be easy." "This is an extremely complex conflict that we're dealing with and it's going to be a long, bumpy road, but we believe sincerely that the commitments made in Geneva ... over the weekend, were genuine and if applied as promised, will have an effect on the dynamics on the ground." CNN's Ivan Watson, Salma Abdelaziz, Holly Yan, Yesim Comert and Joe Sterling contributed to this report. source: cnn news

Al-Assad: I wish the Turkish jet shootdown didn't happen

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, pictured here on June 3, 2012, said the Turkish people "are our brothers".

(CNN) -- Syria's besieged leader says he regrets his soldiers shot down a Turkish jet last month but insisted they reasoned the plane belonged to Israel.

"I would not wish it for any plane other than an enemy one. Especially for a Turkish plane, I say 100%, if only we did not shoot it down," President Bashar al-Assad told Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper in an interview published Tuesday.

"The Turkish people are our brothers and something that would make them sad would never make me happy and it did not. If this was an Israeli plane, of course, I would have been happy."

The June 22 shootdown of a Turkish F-4 Phantom jet came after Israeli planes used the same air corridor three other times, al-Assad said. Israel and Syria are longtime adversaries.

"A plane coming from that side is perceived by the Syrian military as an Israeli plane. It was accepted as an enemy plane, reacted against fast and fired at," he said. "Since we couldn't see it on our radars and no information was given either, the soldiers downed it. We learned that it belonged to Turkey after shooting it down."

Torture allegedly widespread in Syria

 

A Syrian military defector

 

Activists report massacre in Duma

 

Rather: Opposition 'disgusted' with U.N.

 

As a result, al-Assad said, the downing should be seen as "temporary and one that should not be exaggerated."

The shootdown underscores rising tensions between the two nations over Syria's nearly 16-month-long government crackdown and the resultant grass-roots uprising against the regime.

Syria and Turkey acknowledged the plane strayed into Syrian airspace, but Turkey said the incursion was accidental and quickly corrected. Turkey's National Security Council said last week the nation would act against "hostile action" by Syria. Turkey also bolstered its forces along the border.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was changing its military rules of engagement and would treat a military approach toward its borders by Syria as a potential threat that "will be dealt with accordingly."

NATO also deplored the shootdown, but the alliance, of which Turkey is a member, did not promise any action in response to the incident.

Turkish officials said Tuesday that they had scrambled jet fighters Monday to track Syrian helicopters flying near the border between the two countries. It was the third straight day Turkish officials sent jets to intercept Syrian helicopters closing in on the border, according to the Turkish armed forces. There were no shots fired and no direct confrontation incidents.

A search for the pilots of the downed jet in June was ongoing. The wreckage of the plane also has not been located.

The Turkish government, once close with al-Assad, has been sharply critical of the Syrian leader's clampdown against his citizens. Turkey -- which borders Syria -- has slammed al-Assad's rule and is hosting thousands of Syrian refugees and anti-Assad opposition groups.

Al-Assad criticized what he views as Erdogan's "dangerous" posturing after what was an understandable military move.

"In an environment like this, arrival of such a plane is naturally perceived as an enemy plane. Anyone who understands military matters a bit would know this. A country at war would behave this way anywhere in the world. This is absolutely not a political decision. However, unfortunately the Erdogan government is after narrow calculations using this incident. He hasn't gotten the Turkish people's support for 15 months about the Syria policy. Now, he wants to use this incident as an opportunity to turn the animosity between governments to animosity between the people. This is very dangerous," he said.

Despite the tensions, al-Assad makes a distinction between the Turkish government and Israel, its longtime adversary. He doesn't see Turkey as an "enemy, and said Syria would have no reason to shoot down a plane from Turkey."

"One has to ask logical questions here. There are two options. Either we downed the plane knowingly as they claim. Or we downed it by mistake outside the Syrian airspace. If it was downed by mistake outside Syria there is no problem with this. We would say this and formally apologize to Turkey. The Turkish people would show their understanding for this.

"If we were to hit it intentionally, one has to ask this: What kind of gain would Syria get from downing a Turkish plane? If we were to perceive Turkey and a Turkish plane as enemy, we would say that clearly. We would say it came and we downed it, but we don't see (Turkey) as enemy. I have not seen the friendship that I received from the Turkish people for the last 10 years from anyone else. Why would I take a step now, which would lead to their animosity?"

Al-Assad also criticized Turkey for cutting off ties between its army and Syria's. That hurt communication after the downing, he said.

"We would have handled the matter between military officials," he said. "However, in the recent months we do not even have a telephone number anymore of a Turkish commander to call in case of an emergency.

"As we got the news that this plane was downed, Turkey said one of its planes was lost. After Turkey made this statement, that is after the information that a plane was lost arrived, we said 'this is a Turkish plane.' No Turkish officials called us. We called them," he said.

And Al-Assad said that despite Turkey's change in its rules of engagement, "we have not and will not mass along the Turkish border."

"The Turkish people are our friend and they will understand us. It doesn't matter if the Turkish government has animosity towards Syria. If the Turkish people start feeling animosity, then that means there is a problem."

Asked about under what conditions he would leave his position, al-Assad said,"If millions of people in my country don't want me, of course I would go. Why would I sit where I am not wanted?"

Global disgust over the Syrian regime's purported torture of citizens reached a pinnacle Tuesday.

According to a report published by Human Rights Watch, the Syrian regime has been carrying out "a state policy of torture" as part of an effort to crush dissent.

The group identified 27 detention centers across Syria where torture was systematically inflicted on prisoners, citing more than 200 former prisoners and security officers who defected.

The carnage in Syria has spiked in the past two days, with at least 109 people killed Sunday and 114 people killed Monday, opposition activists said. At least 47 deaths have been recorded on Tuesday, the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.

CNN cannot independently confirm the reports of casualties or violence because Syria restricts access by international journalists.

As violence rages in Syria, diplomats continued to search for ways to resolve the problem. World powers huddled Saturday in Geneva, Switzerland, to come up with steps to end the crisis.

Ahmad Fawzi, spokesman for Kofi Annan, the U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria, called the meeting "an accomplishment," with all parties coming together to agree on the need for a transitional governing body in Syria.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, he said Russia and China, which have pushed back on tough world action against al-Assad's regime, "will put their full backing behind this agreement and do whatever they can do."

"We are appealing to the parties to take a deep breath and step back from the brink and look long and hard at the proposals on the table because they form a framework for a solution," he said.

The international group meeting in Switzerland agreed that both the regime and opposition fighters should immediately adopt a cease-fire and implement Annan's six-point peace plan without waiting for the actions of others.

The transitional government could include members of the current Syrian regime, making it theoretically possible that al-Assad will be a part of the transition. Annan pointed out it is the Syrians who will decide the makeup.

Fawzi stressed the challenge of forging peace, saying "nobody said it was going to be easy."

"This is an extremely complex conflict that we're dealing with and it's going to be a long, bumpy road, but we believe sincerely that the commitments made in Geneva ... over the weekend, were genuine and if applied as promised, will have an effect on the dynamics on the ground."

CNN's Ivan Watson, Salma Abdelaziz, Holly Yan, Yesim Comert and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

 source: cnn news