Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is quoting as saying he regrets "100 per cent" a Turkish jet was shot down after entering Syrian airspace.

叙利亚总统巴沙尔·阿萨德称，他对土耳其飞机进入叙利亚领空被击落一事感到“100%”地后悔。

In an interview with Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper, he argues that the plane was flying in an area previously¹ used by Israel's air force.

The plane went down in the Mediterranean² last month and the two pilots have not been found.

The incident has heightened tensions between the two countries.

Last week, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned³ Syria's action and described the neighbouring country as a "clear and present threat".

Turkey reinforced border areas with rocket-launchers and anti-aircraft guns.

On Sunday, Turkey said it had scrambled⁴ six F-16 fighter jets when Syrian helicopters had approached the border.

"We will not allow (the shooting down) to turn into open combat between the two countries," President Assad is quoted as saying.

Cumhuriyet, which published the interview on Tuesday, does not indicate when it took place but shows a picture of Mr Assad standing⁵ beside its Ankara bureau chief Utku Cakirozer.

In other developments, 
 Turkish media reported late on Monday that another 85 Syrian soldiers, including 14 senior officers, had defected across the Turkish border. It is one of the biggest groups of army defections since the March 2011 uprising in Syria began.
 Syria has been accused of practising a widespread policy of state-sanctioned torture, in a Human Rights Watch report . The group says it has identified at least 27 detention⁶ centres across Syria.
 UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has said that both Syrian government forces and the opposition⁷ have been involved in operations that harmed civilians⁸. She has appealed for further militarisation of the conflict to be avoided at all costs.