Russia Warns Turkey over Patriot Missiles along Syria Borders

Moscow warned Turkey over its request to NATO for missiles against Syria, accusing it of “muscle flexing.”
“The militarization of the Syrian-Turkish border is an alarming signal,” spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.
During a news conference in the Russian capital on Thursday, the diplomat advised Turkey to instead promote dialogue between Damascus and the Syrian opposition.
“We have a different recommendation for our Turkish colleagues: they should use their influence on the Syrian opposition to promote the soonest beginning of the inter-Syrian dialogue,” he said.
In October, Turkey fired artillery into Syria after stray shells from the conflict hit the Turkish border town of Akcakale.
Moscow, expressed its concerns that the situation along the Turkish-Syrian border may spiral out of control.
Moreover, Lukashevich strongly advised Turkey against “building muscle or putting the situation on such a dangerous track.”

Turkey has officially made its request to NATO for the deployment of Patriot systems along its Syrian border.
“Such steps clearly do not add optimism from the point of view of a political settlement,” Lukashevich stressed.
However, he remained cautious when asked how the situation might play out. “Let’s wait for a reaction from our NATO partners,” he said.

Moscow and Washington are already at loggerheads over NATO efforts to install a US missile defense system in Eastern Europe. Russia has warned of “another arms race” unless an agreement is reached.

For his part, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has underlined that the Western military alliance would discuss Turkey’s bid “without delay.”