Russia warns Turkey over deployment of NATO missiles on Syria border

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the deployment of NATO Patriot missiles near the border with Syria only “exacerbates” the situation.

“Creating additional capabilities on the border does not defuse the situation but on the contrary exacerbates it,” Putin said in a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after talks in Istanbul on Monday.

“You know, as they say, if a gun is hung on the wall at the start of a play then at the end of the play it will definitely fire,” the Russian president stated.

“Why should we need extra shooting at the border? We are urging restraint.”

Putin arrived in Istanbul on Monday to hold talks with Erdogan over the issue of the turmoil in Syria. The president acknowledged that Moscow and Ankara could not reach an agreement on how to respond to the situation in the Arab country.

“Russia and Turkey for the moment cannot find a mutual approach on the methods of how to regulate the situation in Syria.”

On November 21, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the military alliance would consider “without delay” Turkey’s request for the installation of US-made Patriot missiles on its border with Syria.

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned Turkey on November 22 over stationing the missiles and said, “The militarization of the Syrian-Turkish border is of course a worrying sign.”

The Syrian government blames Turkey along with the Saudi regime, Qatar and a number of Western countries for fueling the months-long turmoil in the country.