German Cabinet Approves Turkey’s Patriot Missile Request

The German cabinet has approved sending Patriot missiles to Turkey, according to reports from The Associated Press.

According to AFP, Germany will also send up to 400 soldiers to help protect the border.

NATO announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to deploy the Patriot missile defenses along Turkey’s border with Syria.

The decision came amid growing fears that the Syrian regime is considering using missiles and chemical weapons, which Turkish officials say could stray across the border, as artillery shells have done in the past.

The Patriot defenses, requested last month, would be able to spot and intercept incoming missiles.

But a senior Syrian diplomat in Damascus has been quoted by AP as saying that the move is “provocative,” adding that the decision to approve Patriot defenses will not hinder Assad’s plans to stop “terrorist” activity.

The Netherlands and the United States are also set to approve the Patriot missiles, according to reports.