German minister says Turkey will ask NATO for Patriot missiles on Syrian border
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere says he expects Turkey to make a formal request to NATO on Monday for Patriot missiles to bolster anti-aircraft defenses along the border with war-wracked Syria.
NATO's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said no such request had been received yet from Ankara, but that it would be considered "as a matter of urgency." He also noted that NATO has drawn up plans to defend Turkey and that the deployment of Patriots would not mean imposing a no-fly zone over Syrian territory, a key demand of Syrian opposition groups.
NATO installed anti-aircraft batteries on Turkish territory during the 1991 and 2003 Iraq wars. They were never used.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Within the alliance, only the United States, Germany and the Netherlands have Patriots in their arsenals.