Turkey will brief NATO's governing body on the downing by Syria of a Turkish reconnaissance plane over the Mediterranean Sea, officials said Tuesday. The discussions will be held under Article 4 of NATO's founding treaty, which allows a NATO member, in this case Turkey, to request consultations if its security has been threatened, officials and diplomats were quoted as saying by the Associated Press. On Monday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Ankara would request that the incident be considered under Article 5, which states that an attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against all members and would possibly allow for NATO military retaliation. Diplomats said the 28 ambassadors who make up the North Atlantic Council will discuss Turkey's concerns and would likely condemn the downing, but refrain from military action. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has repeatedly said that the alliance would need a clear international mandate, and regional support, before it embarked on a mission in Syria.
