Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi urges restraint over downing of Turkish jet.

Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi urges restraint over downing of Turkish jet.(AA).Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi urged Turkey and Syria late on Saturday to show restraint following Syria’s downing of a Turkish warplane, his ministry said. In a telephone conversation with Turkish foreign minister Ahmed Davutoglu, Salehi said he hoped the two sides would “settle the issue peacefully to maintain regional stability,” read a statement on the Iranian foreign ministry’s website. Iran has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since anti-government protests erupted across the country early last year and grew into an armed uprising. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, said in a TV interview that there was no warning before the downed jet was shot in international airspace. He said that the planes sometimes cross over borders and that the downed plane had crossed 15 minutes before it was shot down. The plane had no connection the crisis in Syria and was merely testing domestic radar system, he added. According to a Syrian military account, the aircraft was flying fast and low, just one kilometer off the Syrian coast when it was hit. Signals from both sides suggest neither want a military confrontation over the incident and the countries have started a joint search for the missing airmen. Turkey has taken care not to inflame the sensitive incident by admitting its aircraft may have entered Syrian territory, adding that it may have been unintentional. However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara “will announce its final position and take necessary steps with determination after the incident is entirely clarified.” Turkey, a NATO member, has been a vocal critic of Assad’s brutal crackdown against the unrest.Turkey’s softened tone regarding the downed plane and Iran’s urging for stability show that regional powers are not interested in any confrontation, and that Cold War politics still lingers behind the Syrian conflict. Russia and China vetoing any U.N. Security Council resolution against Assad’s regime, backed by Iran and Hezbollah, have created a Cold War climate. Washington, Ankara’s ally, not intending to widen the conflict with its former Cold War foe, Moscow, has also sounded the alarm over potential transfer of “sophisticated” weapons to Syria and that al-Qaeda can hijack the uprising happening in the country; has accumulated reasons for not taking any bold measures to topple Assad’s regime. Reports have also emerged that Iran’s antagonist, Gulf Arab states, supporting Syria’s opposition by supplying arms and money. With big powers still not reaching a consensus on Syria, violence, meanwhile, continues in the Levant country.Hmmmm......"Empty barrels sound the loudest".Read the full story here.