NATO Seeks to Calm Russian Fears on Missiles for Turkey

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen sought Friday to reassure Russia over the requested deployment of Patriot missiles in Turkey near the border with Syria, saying it would be a "defensive only" measure.

NATO spokesman Carmen Romero said Rasmussen had told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a telephone conversation that such a deployment "would in no way support a no-fly zone or any offensive operations."

Lavrov had earlier warned that siting the anti-aircraft missiles on the border might create a temptation to use the weapons and spark a "very serious armed conflict" involving NATO.

"The more arms are being accumulated, the greater the risk that they will be used," he told reporters.

Rasmussen told Lavrov that "such a deployment would augment Turkey's air defense capabilities to defend the population and territory of Turkey," Romero said.

"It would serve as a deterrent to possible threats and as such would contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along NATO's southeastern border," he added.

NATO's other 27 member states are expected early next week to respond to Ankara's request after military experts of the Atlantic Alliance study the question, a diplomat said.

If they grant the request, as expected, batteries of the U.S.-made missiles could be deployed in subsequent weeks by NATO members that possess the systems -- Germany and The Netherlands.

Russia, a longtime ally of Syria and a provider of arms over Western criticism, has along with China vetoed U.N. resolutions aimed at putting pressure on Damascus through the threat of sanctions.