Moscow concerned over Patriot missile deployment on Turkish-Syrian border

The deployment of Patriot missiles in Turkey would be a dangerous signal, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in reply to an Interfax question at a Thursday press conference in Moscow.

"Militarization of the Syrian-Turkish border is an alarming signal. 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.

The diplomat said that Turkey "should not build muscle or put the situation on such a dangerous track."

Lukashevich stressed that he would rather not anticipate events and it was hard for him to comment. "Let's wait for the reaction of NATO partners," he said.

It would be hard to predict long-term consequences of that step for political settlement, Lukashevich said.

"However, such actions do not add optimism concerning the soonest political settlement," the spokesman stressed.

EU foreign and defense ministers convened in Brussels on Nov. 20 to discuss the possible delivery of Patriot missiles to Turkey. Germany is ready to supply two Patriot batteries, and the Netherlands one.

NATO was asked to deploy Patriot missiles in Turkey the day after to protect the country from possible Syrian strikes.

The U.S. generally supported the missile deployment

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