Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan again warned Syria on Friday it would pay a big price for further attacks, two days after a deadly cross-border shelling.

Erdogan reiterated that Turkey does not want war but is ready to act if threatened by the regime of President Bashar Assad, which has been at war with rebels since early last year.

A town on the Turkey-Syria border was quiet Friday after Syrian shells killed five civilians there prompting military retaliation from Turkey.

The Turkish military has amassed tanks and anti-aircraft missiles in the town of Akcakale, following the deadly incident on Wednesday.

The United States said Thursday Turkey had taken "appropriate" and "proportional" action in firing back at Syria after a deadly cross-border shelling, but urged that tensions should not escalate.

"From our perspective, the response that Turkey made was appropriate," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, adding Ankara had long made it clear that it would respond to any violation of its territory.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday his country has no intention of going to war with Syria, hours after the parliament in Ankara authorized possible cross-border attacks, as Damascus said it was not seeking "escalation."

"We have no intention of starting a war with Syria," Erdogan said at a press conference amid anger over Syrian shelling that killed five Turkish nationals in a town that borders Syria.

Russian objections to a draft U.N. statement condemning Syria's deadly shelling of Turkey sent the Security Council back into consultations, diplomats said Thursday.

The draft had been expected to be approved by a "silence procedure" -- the text is considered adopted if no country objects -- but "the Russians broke the silence," Britain ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters.

Turkey's parliament on Thursday authorized military action against Syria but insisted it was not a war mandate following deadly cross-border fire that sent tensions soaring.

The vote came as Turkey retaliated for the shelling that killed five Turkish nationals, and Syria apologized and vowed it would not happen again.

Syria's chief ally Iran on Thursday urged Syria and Turkey to both show "restraint" following a border shelling exchange that threatened a broader conflict, according to the Fars news agency.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran asks both sides to show restraint, to investigate the issue and take note of the enemy's goals in the region," Iran's deputy foreign minister for Arab affairs, Hossein Amir Adbolahian, told the news agency.

France on Thursday said a Syrian attack on Turkey which killed five civilians was a serious threat to global security and peace and called for an immediate halt to such strikes.

"This violation of international law constitutes a serious threat to global security and peace," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement.

Russia on Thursday voiced concern at the "deteriorating" situation between Syria and Turkey, where cross-border shelling has heightened tensions.

Turkey resumed fire on Syrian positions on Thursday, reportedly killing several soldiers, in revenge for mortar fire on Wednesday which killed five Turkish civilians.

Turkey pounded Syrian targets early on Thursday, killing several soldiers, in reprisal for deadly cross-border fire that has sharply escalated tensions in the tinder-box region.

In Ankara, the Turkish parliament met behind closed doors in an emergency session to consider the government's request to authorize Ankara to conduct cross-border military operations inside Syria.