BEIRUT — Bolstered by an unequivocal declaration of support from NATO, Turkey warned Syria on Tuesday that it would regard any future Syrian military approach along its southern border as a threat, further escalating tensions between the two neighbors in the wake of the downing of a Turkish plane.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad countered with a defiant speech to his cabinet in which he declared that Syria is “in a state of real war.”


“When we are in a war, all our policies .