NATO Set to Back Turkey's Patriot Missiles Bid

NATO is expected to approve the deployment of Patriot Missile Interceptors to defend Turkey's border with Syria.

In November the Turkish government led by PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially requested Patriot missiles from NATO to be deployed along its border with Syria.

International media now say that NATO's Foreign Ministers are expected to support the bid when they meet in Brussels, sending a strong signal they stand behind their ally Turkey.

The missiles, Turkey says, are to be used only defensively in case of a spill over of the Syrian civil war acros the border.

In November, Russia reacted sharply to Turkey's request, arguing that such deployment would actually further worsen boiling tensions.