Turkey requests Patriot missiles from NATO

Turkey has requested that NATO deploy Patriot missiles on its border to defend against attacks from Syria, NATO's secretary general said Wednesday.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement Wednesday that he received a letter from the Turkish government requesting the missile interceptors.

Rasmussen said that the potential deployment would be discussed “without delay.”

The move would have to be approved by NATO, and Rasmussen said it’s up to the countries that have the Patriot missiles — the United States, Germany and the Netherlands — to decide if they can provide them to Turkey.

Rasmussen said that the deployment would aid Turkey’s air defense capabilities and would “contribute to the de-escalation” of the Syrian conflict along the border.

The bloody, 19-month conflict between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and the Syrian opposition has spilled over the Turkish border. In October, the Turkish government authorized military action against Syria after five Turkish soldiers were killed by mortar rounds launched across the border.

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