PM Davutoglu: "We want Patriots"

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated that the goals and responsibilities regarding Patriot missiles claimed to be deployed by NATO on the Turkish-Syrian border are to ensure the security of Turkey and its citizens. Speaking to reporters at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport prior to his visits to Gaza and Egypt, Davutoglu said that necessary steps would be taken within the framework of contingency plans regarding the missiles. NATO member states have agreed to supply Turkey with an advanced Patriot missile system for defense purposes against Syrian attacks and talks on its deployment are in the final stage, Turkey's foreign minister said on Tuesday. Davutoglu also said the necessary contacts were underway, the last stage of the request has been reached and it would not take so long. "The countries supplying NATO with Patriot systems are known. We have reached an agreement with those countries. The official application will be completed as soon as possible. Intensive work is underway and the talks have reached the final stage," Davutoglu said in the Turkish capital, Ankara. Emphasizing that Patriot missiles will be a defensive measure, Davutoglu recalled that similar measures have been taken in the past. Turkey has been talking to NATO allies about how to shore up security on its 900-kilometer border with Syria after mortar rounds landed inside its territory, increasing concerns about the civil war spilling into neighboring states.