Turkey Asks for NATO Patriots on Syria Borders

Local Editor

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said Thursday that the country reserved the right to defend itself against any threat from neighboring Syria, amid discussions about the possible deployment of US Patriot missiles.

"Patriots... are being discussed within NATO. It is only natural for us to take any measure for defense reasons," Gul told reporters, but insisted that it was "out of the question for Turkey to start a war with Syria."

For his part, Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, was quoted by Turkish news media as saying "Turkey, as a NATO member, may seek Patriot missiles to install along its southern border with Syria, which could protect Syrian insurgent safe zones."

Similarly, a Turkish official claimed "there was a potential missile threat to Turkey from Syria."
As he refrained from giving further details, the Turkish official stated: "We have the right to take steps to counter such a threat."

The development, coming only hours after US President Barack Obama won re-election, raised speculation that the United States and its allies were moving towards more interference in the Syrian arena.
Further reinforcing that speculation, British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was prepared to open direct lines of communication with Syrian rebel commanders.

For his part, Cameron, on a visit to Jordan, said Britain and other allies should do more to help the opposition, including establishing direct contacts with rebel forces inside Syria.


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org