Damascus censures Turkish demand for Patriot system

Damascus has criticized Ankara’s demand to deploy advanced NATO Patriot missiles along the Syrian border, calling it another act of provocation by the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Earlier this week, Turkey asked its NATO allies to deploy surface-to-air Patriot missiles to protect its border with Syria.

The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday that the alliance would consider the Turkish request “without delay.”

Syrian Foreign Ministry officials accused Ankara of causing “tension and destruction.”

A Syrian official called the Turkish plan “a new act of provocation.”

“Syria holds Erdogan responsible for the militarization of the situation at the border Syrian – Turkish borders, and the increase of tension,” the unidentified official said.