Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Planned deployment of Patriot missiles sends a clear message to the Syrians that Turkey has the full support of all its NATO allies, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a press briefing in Brussels on Thursday, Azerbaijan's Trend news agency reported.

Secretary Clinton highlighted that deployment of Patriot missiles was solely for the defense of Turkey, which is clearly articulated in a NATO statement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that Turkey did not need to use NATO's Patriot missiles against Syrian planes, Anadolu agency reported on Wednesday.

Speaking after a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Davutoglu referred to NATO's approval this week on deployment of the Patriot air defense system in Turkey, saying that how many Patriots would be deployed and where they would be placed would become clear according to the military equipment needs and capabilities of the alliance.

Regarding the statement of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen about using Patriots only against missiles, he said, "Turkey has its own conventional power against planes anyway."

"Turkey has the power and ability to confront a risk regarding air forces. We do not have such a demand," he said.

Davutoglu added that the demand of Patriot air defense system from NATO was "a caution" and it would be natural for Turkey to use the capabilities of the alliance in the case of risks.

NATO foreign ministers approved the deployment of Patriot defense missiles to Turkey on Tuesday.

Although NATO's 28 countries quickly approved Turkey's request to augment its air defense against a potential cross-border attack from Syria, the deployment of Patriot systems will likely take place in early 2013, as technical work to determine the number of batteries and sites continues.

"It's hard to give a precise date for the deployment of the Patriots. But it could take no less than a month if everything goes as planned," Hurriyet Daily News reported on Wednesday citing diplomatic sources.

The NATO ministers' approval was just the first phase of the process, as technicalities of the deployment are yet to be decided by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

Meanwhile, Germany's cabinet agreed on Thursday to send Patriot missiles and up to 400 soldiers to Turkey to act as a deterrent against any spread of the conflict in Syria across the border, Berlin's foreign and defense ministries said, Reuters reported.

The Netherlands and the United States also plan to provide Patriot batteries. Deployment is expected to take several weeks.

Germany's parliament will vote on the mandate between December 12 and 14, said the ministries.

"Strengthening the integrated NATO air defense in Turkey is a purely defensive measure which, as a military deterrent, will prevent the conflict within Syria spreading to Turkey," the ministries said.

"The deployment does not represent the establishment or monitoring of a no-fly-zone over Syrian territory or any other offensive step," they added.

The Patriot deployment will come under the command of SACEUR allied troops, which can also order the use of Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS), the ministries said.

Approval from Germany's Bundestag is not expected to be a problem although some opposition lawmakers, mainly Greens, are against the deployment due to fears of getting caught up in a wider regional conflict.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has said he expects a broad parliamentary majority in the vote.

The foreign ministry said the suggested mandate would last until the end of January, 2014.

Turkey has repeatedly scrambled jets along the countries' frontier and has responded in kind when shells from the Syrian conflict came down inside its borders, fuelling fears the civil war could spread.

However, Syria and its allies Russia and Iran have criticized the decision on the missiles, saying it increases regional instability.

A senior Damascus official on Thursday blasted NATO's move to provide Turkey with Patriot missiles to be deployed along its border with Syria, denouncing the development as a "provocative" step, AP reported.

The missiles would not affect the determination of President Bashar Assad's government to crush the "terrorists," insisted Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, using the regime term for rebels fighting to topple Assad.

"The Turkish move and NATO's support for it is a provocative move, part of psychological warfare against Syria," he said. "But if they think this will affect our determination to fight the terrorists ... they are wrong."

He warned that any foreign military intervention against Syria would be "catastrophic" with severe consequences.

Violence has gripped Syria since protests that began against President Assad 21 months ago turned into a revolt amid a government crackdown. Civilians make up the vast majority of the at least 20,000 people killed in the conflict, while 2.5 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance, and another 475,000 have fled the country and have either registered, or are registering, as refugees, according to UN estimates.