NATO Approves Patriot Missiles in Turkey against Syria

Local Editor

NATO on Tuesday approved member state Turkey's request for Patriot missiles to be deployed along its border with Syria.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen viewed that "the alliance's decision reflected a steadfast commitment to preserving the security of its 28 member states."
"We say to anyone who would want to attack Turkey -- don't even think about it," he remarked, announcing the decision after the first day of a two-day meeting in Brussels.

In its statement, NATO mentioned that it had "agreed to augment Turkey's air defense capabilities in order to defend the population and territory of Turkey and to contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the alliance's border."
"Germany, the Netherlands and the United States have agreed to provide the Patriot missile batteries, which would come under the command of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)," the statement said.

Claiming that the Patriot system was purely defensive, Rasmussen said technical discussions would now follow about how many of the US-made Patriots would be deployed and where.
For its part, Turkey welcomed NATO's decision, and reiterated that the weapons are solely for defensive purposes.
"The measures that will be taken by Turkey will in no case be used for offensive operations. This system is only slated for the defense of Turkish territory," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.
It added that the US-made surface-to-air missiles will not in "any way be used to promote an air exclusion zone" over neighboring Syria.

After NATO talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier Tuesday, Rasmussen had said deploying Patriots would be "an effective deterrent and in that way de-escalate the situation" along the border.

Lavrov dismissed that point, saying the chemical weapons issue was overblown while the Patriot deployment created "the risk that these arms will be used".
"It was not the first time there were such rumors and leaks about chemical weapons and they should not be overstated," he said, while reaffirming Moscow's position that any use of chemical arms would be a violation of international treaties.


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawma.org