Turkey agrees to deployment of NATO radar

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey says it has reached agreement on the deployment of a radar on its territory as part of NATO's missile defense system.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued late Thursday, September 1, that discussions "have reach their final stages."

NATO members agreed to an anti-missile system over Europe to protect against Iranian ballistic missiles at a summit in Lisbon last year. A compromise was reached with Turkey, which has cultivated close ties with its neighbor Iran and had threatened to block the deal if Iran is explicitly named as a threat.

The ministry statement said the system would strengthen both NATO and Turkey's own defense capacities. It did not say when or where the radar would be stationed, the Associated Press reported.