The NATO military alliance has agreed to the deployment of Patriot missiles as requested by member Turkey to help defend its border against possible threats from Syria. “NATO has agreed to augment Turkey’s air defence capabilities in order to defend the population and territory of Turkey and to contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the alliance’s border,” a statement released on Tuesday said. The statement, attributed to the foreign ministers of the alliance, cited “repeated violations of Turkey’s territory” as the reason the deployment had been approved. “We stand with Turkey in the spirit of strong solidarity,’’ Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary-general, said in Brussels. “To anyone who would want to attack Turkey, we say, ‘Don’t even think about it!’” The ministers said: “We express our appreciation to the Turkish people and authorities for assisting Syrian citizens who found refuge in Turkey. We call for an end to violence in Syria, which represents a serious threat to stability and security in the region. “We fully support the efforts of the international community to find a peaceful solution.”
