Turkey assures Syria border missiles not for no-fly zone

PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO surface-to-air missiles due to be stationed near Turkey's border with Syria will only be used to protect Turkish territory and not to establish a no-fly zone within Syria, the Turkish military said on Monday, Nov 26, according to Reuters.

Turkey riled Syria, Russia and Iran by requesting the NATO surface-to-air Patriot system, designed to intercept aircraft or missiles, last Wednesday after weeks of talks on how to shore up security on its 900-km (560-mile) border as the conflict in Syria deepens.

Syria, which called the move "provocative", and its allies including Russia and Iran oppose any development that they perceive could be a first step towards implementing a no-fly zone.

"The deployment of the air and missile defense system is only to counter an air or missile threat originating in Syria and is a measure entirely aimed at defense," the Turkish military said in a statement.

"That it will be used to form a no-fly zone or for an offensive operation is out of the question," it said.

Syrian rebels, despite seizing swathes of land, are almost defenseless against Syria's air force and have called for an internationally enforced no-fly zone, a measure that helped Libyan rebels overthrow Muammar Gaddafi last year.

On Monday, Syrian jets bombed the rebels' headquarters near the border, opposition activists in the area said.

Most foreign governments are loath to impose a no-fly zone for fear of getting dragged into the 20-month-old conflict.

A joint Turkish-NATO team will start work on Tuesday assessing where to station the missiles, how many would be needed and the number of foreign troops that would be sent to operate them, the statement said.