EU blasts Syria over jet but warns against militarization

(L-R) French Foreign Affairs minister Laurent Fabius, Belgium's Foreign minister Didier Reynders, Slovenian Foreign Affairs minister Karl Erjavec, Luxembourg's Foreign Affairs minister Jean Asselborn and German Foreign Affairs minister Guido Westerwelle talk prior to an EU Foreign Affairs Council on June 25, 2012 at the Kirchberg conference center in Luxembourg. AFP Photo

The European Union rounded on Syria today for downing a Turkish fighter jet while warning of the dangers of military escalation ahead of NATO talks on the incident the following day.

Foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc meeting in Luxembourg also stepped up the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad's regime, agreeing a 16th round of sanctions, this time targeting the civil service, diplomatic sources said.

Joining his EU counterparts for the first time, France's new Socialist minister Laurent Fabius blasted Damascus for shooting down a Turkish F-4 phantom jet Friday.

"This plane was not carrying arms and was on a routine flight and was shot down ... there was no prior warning, therefore this is completely unacceptable," Fabius said.

Germany's Guido Westerwelle, likewise deeming the Syrian move "unacceptable", praised Ankara for "reacting in very calm manner" and said it was "important that all forces understand that de-escalation is now decisive." On Turkey's request, NATO will hold an emergency meeting on the matter in Brussels tomorrow.

"Turkey has requested consultations under Article 4" of NATO's founding treaty under which member countries can request a meeting if their security is threatened, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said this weekend.

"Under Article 4, any ally can request consultations whenever, in the opinion of any of them, their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened," she added.

Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, who also expressed concern over the incident, said as she went into the talks: "We'll be looking to Turkey to be restrained in its response." EU diplomats have long warned against military options in the Syrian crisis and have been working for weeks on helping to build a credible opposition to Assad in order to find a political road out of the bloodshed.

Sweden's Carl Bildt, just back from a tour of the region with EU counterparts, reiterated the bloc's stand that a political solution was the sole current option.

"The further the violence goes on and the militarization of the conflict, the more difficult it will be to avoid an outcome that could well result in sectarian fragmentation of the entire region, with devastating consequences in the years to come," he said.

Bildt said the sanctions slapped on Damascus since the onset of civil unrest early last year were having "an indirect long term effect" on the regime by slowing the economy.

In today's fresh round of restrive measures, the EU imposed an asset freeze and travel ban against six government ministries and one individual, while clarifying an existing EU arms embargo.

The identities of those targeted will be detailed tomorrow.

Also adopted was a specific ban on insuring items embargoed for delivery to Syria, including arms shipments.

The measure follows an incident some days ago involving a British-insured Russian cargo ship carrying attack helicopters for Syria.

The United States alerted Britain to the consignment and British security services told insurers Standard Club that providing insurance for the shipment would breach EU sanctions, reports said.

Standard Club then canceled insurance for the ship as well as others in the fleet owned by Russian cargo line Femco, forcing the vessel to head home.

Turkey could have downed 114 planes for airspace violations: Army

Turkey's air space has been violated 114 separate times so far this year but each instance was quickly resolved peacefully, the General Staff has said following Syria’s downing of a Turkish warplane for violating its airspace.

"We would have shot down 114 planes if every aircraft that violated a country's airspace were shot down without questioning," the General Staff said, according to daily Milliyet.

A majority of the violations were done by Greek aircraft, with Italian and Israeli aircraft also known to have violated Turkish air space this year. "Air space violations are incidents that happen almost every day, and are resolved in a matter of minutes within international law," the General Staff said in a statement.

Six airplanes violated Turkish airspace last week alone, the General Staff said, of which none were shot down and left Turkey's airspace after they were warned by Turkish personnel.

A violation of one to two kilometers is accepted as "natural" given the speed of aircraft, the statement said. This year's violations of Turkish airspace lasted between 20 seconds and nine minutes, which showed "airspace violations can be resolved by warning and interceptions," the statement said.

According to radar traces provided by the chief of General Staff, the Turkish F-4 jet that was downed on June 22 was hit 13 nautical miles off the Syrian coast in international waters but crashed in Syrian territorial waters. The records show that the Turkish jet unintentionally violated Syrian airspace at 11:42 a.m. for five minutes, 16 minutes before contact was lost with the jet. At 11:44 a.m. Turkish radars informed the jet that it had entered Syrian airspace and told it to leave as soon as possible.

Coordinates of jet known, but not yet found: Turkish official

Turkey knows the coordinates of the wreckage of its plane shot down by Syria, 1,300 meters underwater on the seabed in Syrian waters, but has not actually found the aircraft as reported by Turkish media, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday.

Some Turkish news channels earlier reported that search teams had found the wreckage. Foreign ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal also said it was still unclear whether or not the pilots had ejected and that the search for the missing men was the priority.

Ünal confirmed a diplomatic note had been issued to Syrian consular staff in Istanbul, saying Ankara had briefly outlined their version of the incident and had condemned the downing of its aircraft.

U.S. says weighing 'next steps' with partners on Syria

Following the suspension of operations by UN observers, U.S. calls on Syria to uphold its committments under the Annan plan.

The White House said on Saturday it was consulting with international partners on "next steps" in the Syrian crisis after UN observers suspended operations there in response to violence that has escalated despite a ceasefire deal.

"We call again on the Syrian regime to uphold its commitments under the Annan plan, including the full implementation of a ceasefire," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement.

U.S. officials have voiced growing skepticism about Syrian President Bashar Assad's willingness to comply with the tattered plan brokered by international mediator Kofi Annan.

But Washington and its Western allies have shown no appetite for a Libya-style military intervention even as Moscow has helped shield Assad from tougher UN measures.

"At this critical juncture, we are consulting with our international partners regarding next steps toward a Syrian-led political transition as called for in Security Council resolutions," Vietor said. But he provided no specifics.

"The sooner this transition takes place, the greater the chance of averting a lengthy and bloody sectarian civil war," Vietor said.

Chief monitor General Robert Mood said earlier the fighting in Syria posed a threat to his unarmed observers and prevented them from carrying out their mandate to oversee Annan's widely ignored April 12 ceasefire. One of the observer mission's patrols was fired upon four days ago.

Diplomats say Mood is expected to brief the UN Security Council on Monday or Tuesday about the unrest in Syria.

U.S. President Barack Obama will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Mexico, but expectations are low for any significant progress for breaking the deadlock on Syria.

In wake of Syria massacre, West seeks to unify Bashar Assad's opponents

Though there is no lack of denunciations of the attack that killed over 100 people near Homs, the international community faces significant hurdles in its bid to stop the carnage.

A child with a Syrian opposition flag painted on the face, reacts as Syrian refugees take part in a protest in Tripoli, northern Lebanon.

Whoever initiated, responded or contributed to this violent, regretful event must claim responsibility," – this was the weak response from the head of the UN observer team in Syria, Robert Mood. This was a typical, chilly response, which shows that even the chief observer doesn't know, or is unwilling to indicate "whoever initiated," and who should claim responsibility for the massacre in the village of Houla, in the province of Homs, which claimed the lives of over 100 people, including 32 children under the age of ten. The UN Security Council released a similar statement on Saturday, denouncing the massacre.

There is no lack of words or denunciations in this violent struggle. It seems however, this "regretful event" might also lead to government action as well. According to the New York Times, the U.S. is currently engaging in talks with the Russian government, in an attempt to fit a square peg in a round hole – to find a solution that will satisfy the opposition but allow for Bashar Assad's regime to remain in power, possibly even Assad himself.

Russia and the U.S. have dubbed the proposal the "Yemen Model," and discussions will continue during U.S. President Barack Obama's next meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in June.

New York Times' sources state that for the first time, Russia is not immediately rejecting a plan in which Assad would step down and pass his power to an interim leader, allowing for a political process and free elections to be held in Syria, similar to the situation in Yemen.

In order to properly prepare for Russia to join in on the plan, Obama, along with Turkey, is trying to coordinate the unification of the Syrian opposition, and influence opposition leaders to engage in talks that will lead to a regime change.

According to the Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, the U.S. National Security Adviser met with Turkey's deputy foreign minister in Washington on Friday, to form a basic outline for the plan.

Up until this point, the Syrian National Council, an umbrella organization for all opposition groups, has refused all proposals to launch a dialogue with the Syrian regime.

Even if such a plan is developed, its implementation depends on Assad's consent – and that of his army. Assad has already proven in the past that he knows how to fold when the cards threaten his rule, but until now, he has yet to face the pressure of a do or die situation. If Russia agrees to join with the forces pressuring Assad, there's a possibility for change.

Meanwhile, the Gulf States, under Kuwaiti leadership this time, have initiated efforts to put pressure on the Security Council. The Gulf States were accused by Assad of funding and arming opposition militias within Syria. Until this point, the Gulf States have denied those accusations, and the Free Syria Army has also refused to reveal the origins of its armaments.

According to reports from within Syria, the Free Syrian Army has ties with regional countries such as Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, and Azerbaijan, through which it purchases weapons. Although they have purchased mostly light weapons, the passage of weapons into the hands of the rebels has been met with some setbacks, as Lebanese beaches are being patrolled by Russian naval vessels and have led to the capture of the "Lutfullah-2," a ship carrying weapons for the Syrian rebels. Syrian forces are also monitoring Iraqi border crossings.

The Gulf States are fervently trying to involve the Arab League in the discussions, in order to force a decision calling for international military action, similar to the situation in Libya.

It is doubtful that such demands will be answered, as NATO and its member states have expressed that they have no intentions of initiating military action in Syria.

It remains to be seen if the Arab League or the Gulf states will agree to send weapons to the rebels out in the open, a move that would increase international involvement and could drag western states into doing so as well.

Reluctance to get involved militarily as requested by Syrian opposition stems primarily from a fear of additional conflicts erupting in areas like Lebanon, Iraq, and the Persian Gulf. Such conflicts could be initiated by Syria's allies Hezbollah and Iran, in an attempt to divert attention from Syria.

Opposition to supplying the Free Syria Army with heavy arms exists as well, because of dissent and lack of centralized leadership among opposition groups. Such factors could lead to weapons being used not only against the Syrian government, but also in internal onflicts between opposition groups - or worst of all - weapons could fall into the hands of Hezbollah or other terrorist groups operating within Syria.

This dilemma only leaves the West and the Arab nations with one course of action - funding and training the opposition. Such a move would not require the Free Syria Army to make an international agreement. The money comes from Arab sources, Syrian benefactors residing abroad.