Turkey petitions NATO to deploy Patriot missiles along Syrian border

November 21, 2012 – TURKEY – ISTANBUL — Turkey has formally asked the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to deploy Patriot missiles to protect its long border with Syria, the military alliance said on Wednesday, raising the prospect of a further militarization of the neighbors’ tense frontier amid heightened concerns the civil war is spilling onto Turkish territory. In a statement, NATO said that it would consider alliance-member Turkey’s request “without delay” and announced that a NATO team would visit Turkey for a site-survey to consider a deployment next week. If approved, the deployment would “contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along NATO’s south-eastern border,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. “It would be a concrete demonstration of alliance solidarity and resolve.” But Mr. Rasmussen was also eager to clarify the limits of NATO’s likely commitment. “The Turkish government stressed that the deployment will be defensive only and that it will in no way support a no-fly zone or any offensive operation,” he added. The formal request followed a series of discussions between Ankara and NATO allies about how to shore up security on the 565-mile border with Syria and raises the prospect of foreign troops being deployed along the border. Ankara has already bolstered its military presence along the frontier and has been responding in kind to gunfire and artillery shells hitting its territory from fighting between Syrian rebels and Syrian government forces. Patriots are anti-ballistic missile systems that are usually manned by specialist troops who deploy with the missiles themselves. U.S. Patriot missiles were moved to Turkey in 1991 and 2003, during the two Gulf wars. In 2003, the missiles took about 10 days to move them into place. Turkey, which has long coveted stationing Patriot systems on Turkish territory as a means for moving the conflict higher up the agenda, said Tuesday it had found allies who agreed to supply it with an advanced Patriot missile system. Only the U.S., the Netherlands and Germany have the appropriate system available. Officials said the three governments wanted to make it clear to Ankara that the missiles wouldn’t be used to enforce a no-fly zone or for offensive purposes. A spokesman for the Dutch foreign ministry said the government would consider the Turkish request “while thinking about the solidarity within the NATO alliance.” Speaking to the German parliament Tuesday afternoon, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière said the Turkish request specifically describes the deployment as a defensive measure required to de-escalate the situation along the Turkish border to Syria. The deployment isn’t intended to offensively enforce a no-fly-zone in Syria, Mr. de Maizière said. “” will recommend we accept the request,” he said. The Bundestag should formally approve the request by early December, the German defense minister said. Germany has Patriot missiles stationed at three bases in Germany; the squadrons are ready to deploy on short notice, should they be asked to do so, a defense ministry spokesman said, adding that details of any deployment would be decided based on the precise NATO request. -WSJ

About these ads