Reporting by Duygu Ozbay
ANTALYA
Jesper Vahr, Director of the Private Office of the NATO Secretary General, said that there would be half a dozen Patriot batteries coming in Turkey within the scope of NATO's decision to support Turkey's air defense.
Speaking to AA regarding his assessment about the latest developments in Syria, Vahr said, "the situation in Syria was a great concern to us all, to the Alliance. When Turkey put forward its request for NATO to support its defense capabilities, there was an absolute show of solidarity immediately. This is what NATO is about, it's about supporting a member that feels a potential threat to itself, and so, while of course it is a request that had to be discussed and technicalities of it were further examined, there was no doubt in anybody's mind that the alliance will make a strong show of solidarity."
"We also heard now at the conference that there is the issue of the Patriots themselves and the military capability they provide. Ambassador Berk also pointed out it is also the fact that NATO shows it is behind Turkey if there is a threat, it is also important. So it is both an actual defense capability, but also a very strong signal to the Syrian regime," he added.
When asked what is the total number of Patriots to be sent and when will they come and how many troops will accompany them, Vahr said, "both the German and Dutch parliaments are deliberating right now as we speak these requests. I expect all in all there will be half a dozen batteries coming. But it is effectively up to the contributors of the Patriots to decide the scope and the number of troops that will accompany the actual capabilities. But there have been some public statements, by Panetta about the U.S. contribution, so there will be a significant augmentation of Turkish defense capabilities."
