Plane shot down by Syria was not carrying any weapons - Turkish FM

"Our plane was not carrying any weapons and was not involved in any operation" - said Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaking on TRT Haber state news channel.

Turkey's foreign minister said Sunday that the military jet downed by Syria was on a training mission, and "not involved in any operation against Syria."

Davutoglu said that the F4 fighter plane shot down on Friday was testing Turkey's own radar and defence systems.

The Turkish warplane F-4 Phantom, disappeared over the Mediterranean, near the Syrian coast, about 09:00 GMT on Friday.

The Turkish and Syrian sides are searching for the pilots within rescue activities in Syria's territorial waters.

Damascus said it shot down the Turkish warplane after it invaded in Syria's airspace.

"[The thing that happened] should not be regarded as a hostile action against Turkey in any case," spokesman for the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. "It was only the protection of the country's sovereignty. It is an incident, not an attack.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern about the serious consequences that the incident with the plane may have for the whole region.