Turkey is expected to play a major role in the US missile defense system in Europe, according to a senior Defense Department official.

James Townsend, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, has stated at a press briefing in Washington that Turkey as a country with strategic geographic location and a key NATO ally will have a major role in the missile defense.

"As we look at where the ballistic-missile threats can come from, Turkey seems to us to be quite -- very much along the front lines. Turkey has played a very helpful role. We've had some very good, deep discussions with Turkey. And now the decisions are in Ankara to make, both on Turkey's role but especially -- and this is another important point - especially on where Turkey is when it comes to voting at NATO in terms of this political decision for NATO to take on missile defense as a -- as a NATO capability," Townsend said as reported the Anatolian News Agency as cited by Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman.

He has made it clear the United States has taken an adaptive approach after last year the Obama Administration dropped the original plans for basing the missile shield in Europe in Poland and the Czech Republic.

"One of the major changes from the former to this approach on missile defense is involving the NATO alliance. And so what we did was we began to talk within the alliance and suggest this as an important capability for NATO to take on. But at the same time, we began to talk to other nations on a bilateral basis, because, you know -- think nothing had been decided at NATO. As we were just saying before, it is still looking at this as a political decision," said Townsend.

"So we've been talking to Turkey as well as to other -- these other nations since the beginning of the phased adaptive approach as we began to refine the plan, as we looked at questions that nations have had about, well, how will this system work, etc.," he explained.

"We will assess together what can be done to agree on a common strategy within the alliance system," Turkish Foreign Minister Davuto?lu is quoted as saying. Other Turkish government sources have remarked that Turkey would agree to host elements of the US missile defense in Europe only actual threats to be countered by that system can be identified.

During its summit in Lisbon in November, NATO is supposed to decide on whether to adopt the US missile shield in Europe as a project of the entire Alliance.

The Obama Administration plan would deploy systems designed to shoot down short and medium-range missiles. Romania has already volunteered to host the interceptor missiles on its soils, and the US has had conversations with Bulgaria on hosting elements of the missile defense.

It is unclear yet how the plans to have Turkey host missile shield elements would reflect upon the potential role of Bulgaria and Romania in that respect.

The missile defense system is formally advertised as needed to protect the European members of NATO from missiles fired from Iran or other Middle Eastern states. Needless to say, the project has been met with strong opposition by Russia which many believe might have caused the Obama Administration to modify the original plan providing for stationing the interceptors in Poland and the radar in the Czech Republic.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!