Nato ambassadors have met to consider a Turkish request for the deployment of Patriot missiles near its border with Syria as the conflict deepens.
The move highlights Ankara’s fears that the situation on its border could deteriorate rapidly and echoes its calls for military support during the two Gulf wars, when Nato deployed surface-to-air missiles on its soil in 1991 and 2003.
Turkey formally made the request after weeks of talks with Nato allies about how to shore up security on its 900-km border. It has repeatedly scrambled figh ter jets along the frontier and responded in kind to stray Syrian shells flying into its territory. – (Reuters)