Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu said NATO is preparing to deploy patriot missiles to bolster defenses on its border with Syria. The surface-to-air missiles will be able to shoot down aircraft up to 160 kilometers away.
Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu said NATO is preparing to deploy patriot missiles to bolster defenses on its border with Syria. The surface-to-air missiles will be able to shoot down aircraft up to 160 kilometers away.
The foreign minister's comments appeared to be in direct contradiction to a statement from the Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has denied that his country has made a request to NATO for the missiles.
"We do not have any thoughts of acquiring patriots by paying money," Erdogan said in a press statement quoted by the Turkish Anadolu Agency.
NATO also said that they hadn't received an official request from Turkey for the missiles.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland has also confirmed at the briefing that no request from Turkey has been received.
Patriot is a long-range, all-weather, all-altitude system designed to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft.
The possibility of enforcing a no-fly zone in Syria, where rebel militants would be protected from attacks by the government’s air force, has been on the table for some time despite NATO’s reluctance to intervene in the Syrian conflict without a mandate from the UN Security Council.
The Patriot missile deployment is one of several scenarios currently being considered, the official said. Plans for the deployment were put on hold pending the results of the US election, the source explained, speaking on condition of anonymity because of ministry prohibitions on speaking with the media.
Tensions between Turkey and Syria escalated in October, when shells coming from Syria landed in the Turkish border town of Akçakale, killing five civilians.
Turkey retaliated for several days. At least ten Syrian troops were reportedly killed by Turkish fire.
Turkey previously requested the deployment of the Patriot system during the first and second Iraq wars. In both cases, deployments were carried out by the Netherlands – one of the few NATO members equipped with the system.
