Turkey warns against Syria chemical arms

08:04 15.11.2012
Turkey

Turkey warned on November 13 of the risk of Syria using missiles with chemical weapons as tensions rose between Israel and Syria, whose forces traded fire for a second consecutive day.

In an interview with the Financial Times on a day that a Syrian fighter jet also attacked an area near the Turkish border, President Abdullah Gul raised the possibility of Damascus using chemical weapons against Turkey – a threat he said could be countered by Nato Patriot missiles.

«It is known that Syria has chemical weapons and they have old Soviet delivery systems, so if there is in some eventuality some sort of madness in this respect and some action is taken, contingency planning has to be put in place and this is something Nato is doing,» he said.

Ankara is considering asking Nato for Patriot missiles on its border with Syria, but Mr Gul’s comments go further than previous statements in spelling out Ankara’s fears that Syrian chemical weapons may be used against it.

The Turkish president said he believed that a series of incidents in which Syrian shells have landed on Turkish terrain were not intentional, but added: «Of course we cannot tolerate such action and we give the necessary response.»

Adapted from Worldbulletin

Теми:

More on the topic