Turkey formally asked NATO to deploy Patriot missile system on its border with Syria 2211121

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Defense News - Turkey
 
 
Thursday, November 22, 2012, 09:26 AM
 
Turkey formally asked NATO to deploy Patriot missile system on its border with Syria.
Turkey on Wednesday, November 21, 2012, formally asked NATO to deploy Patriot missile defense elements on its border with Syria to boost its air defense systems, an official statement announced. NATO will convene in the shortest time possible to discuss the Turkish request, according to the statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
     

Launcher unit of Patriot air defense missile system at Paris Air Show
     

Meanwhile, the Turkish government said in a statement in Ankara, "in face of the threats and risks posed to our national security by the ongoing crisis in Syria... it has been decided to formally request from NATO that our national air defense be reinforced with the support of allied air defense elements."

The request followed talks between Ankara and NATO allies about how to shore up security on the 900-km border with Syria after mortar rounds landed on Turkish territory, increasing concerns about the civil war spilling over into Syria's neighbours.

NATO has installed anti-aircraft batteries in Turkey twice before, during the 1991 and 2003 Iraq wars. They were never used and were removed a few months later.