NATO has approved a request by Turkey for the deployment of Patriot missiles to its border with Syria. Turkey has sought the missiles to defend itself, it says, from cross-border violence. Speaking in Belgium, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Patriot missiles would serve as a deterrent to Syria.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen: “I do believe that a deployment of Patriot missiles will serve as an effective deterrent and that way de-escalate the situation along the Syrian-Turkish border, because the mere fact that the missiles, the Patriot missiles, have been deployed make it necessary for any potential aggressor to — to — to think twice before they even consider attacking Turkey.”