We do not know of the location of the two missing pilots…

When asked if the pilots are being held captive, al-Zoubi said, We have no idea of the location of the two missing pilots. We hope they are still alive.

We do not want a crisis with Turkey…

I hope that Turkish-Syria relations reach a better point. The Turkish aircraft violated Syria's borders. Syria never wanted to bring down a Turkish plane.

It was not done intentionally…

The Turkish public are our brothers. The plane was an unidentified plane that was flying extremely low. It was not brought down by a missile.

It may have been mistaken for an Israeli plane…

As you know there is a Zionist nation in our region, namely Israel. Because their airplanes were also purchased from the United States, they closely resemble Turkish aircrafts. If an Israeli plane were to enter Syria it would be responded to with open fire. This aircraft could have been suspected to be from Israel. We did not want to bring down a Turkish plane.

NATO should deal with the issue from a technical standpoint…

First of all, if Turkish soldiers are active within the Turkish border this does not concern us whatsoever.

Tranquility within a military framework is crucial…

There is a project in the works intending to divide this region. The inhabitants of this region should not be fooled by Israel and America's trickery. A variety of groups from Tunisia, Libya to Al Qaeda are currently conducting armed attacks in Syria. Our wish is for Turkey to not become a part of this project. We do not want Turkey to be an instrument in America and Israel's project."