Source: News Wire Reports
RT - Turkey seeks NATO deployment of Patriot missiles on Syria border
Turkey will make an official request to its NATO partners to deploy Patriot missiles along its border with Syria. The surface-to-air missiles will be able to shoot down aircraft up to 160 kilometers away.
The request will be made “imminently,” a senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official told the media.
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 fighters would be protected from attacks by the government’s air force, has been on the table for some time…
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.
The official said that any missile deployment might happen under a “NATO umbrella,” although NATO maintains it will not intervene without a clear UN mandate.
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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.
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Xinhua News Agency
November 7, 2012
Turkey, U.S. discuss deploying missiles against Syrian attacks
ANKARA: Turkey and its NATO allies, including the United States, have been discussing the deployment of Patriot missiles on the Turkish side of the border with Syria…, the Turkish daily Milliyet reported Wednesday.
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Turkey and the United States are considering deploying missiles in the Turkish southern province of Kilis, and the missiles are expected to protect an area of 60 km long up to Syria’s Aleppo city, according to the report.
The proposal of Turkey also aims to protect the Syrian opposition…it said.
The proposal, which might be launched under NATO umbrella, was pending the the U.S. election.
Turkey has requested the deployment of Patriot missile defense systems on its territory twice, in the early 1990s and 2000s, in the context of wars in Iraq.
Ankara’s request was met by Netherlands, one of few countries which have such missile systems.
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