The United States could send Patriot missiles to Turkey after the death of Turkish soldiers killed in attacks attributed to the Syrian regime in the Idleb region (northwest of Syria), said on Thursday February 20 Turkish Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar.
" There is a threat of air strikes, missiles against our country, " the minister said on CNN Turk. " There could be support with Patriots, " he added, while excluding any ground support for American troops.
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The interview was recorded on Thursday before Ankara announced the death of two more Turkish soldiers in the Idleb region, killed in an air strike attributed to the Syrian regime. A total of 16 Turkish soldiers have been killed on this front since early February.
The clashes between Ankara and Damascus, which have multiplied since the beginning of February, are also creating growing friction between Turkey, which supports rebel groups in Idleb, and Russia, which militarily supports the Syrian regime.
Turkey is not trying to " confront " Russia over Syria, the minister assured CNN Turk, however. " We have no intention of facing Russia, " he said, adding that discussions with Russian officials would continue.
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One of the issues discussed is the management of the airspace over Idleb, Ankara hoping that Russia will not interfere in this sector, said Akar. Two rounds of talks between Russian and Turkish delegations in Ankara and Moscow in February did not lead to any tangible agreement.
Ankara will no doubt have trouble convincing Washington to deliver Patriots to it because Turkey has already bought S-400 anti-aircraft defense systems from Russia despite objections from the United States. The S-400s " will be activated ... have no doubt about it, " said Akar, adding that Turkey was still looking to procure Patriots, the US equivalent of the S-400s, despite that.