Turkey deploys missiles along border with Syria
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 6, 2013
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will address his nation Sunday over the unrest that has ravaged the Middle East country in the past 21 months, as the NATO has begun deploying Patriot defense systems along the Turkish border.
U.S. personnel and equipment began arriving at southern Turkey's Incirlik Air Base on Friday to support NATO's Patriot battery deployment, the U.S. embassy in Ankara said.
"President Bashar al-Assad will deliver a speech on Sunday morning on the latest developments in Syria and the region," Syria's state-run SANA news agency reported.
In his Sunday speech, the president is expected to outline his envisaged solution to the crisis, according to Lebanese newspapers.
The solution reportedly included a ceasefire under UN monitoring, a new constitution drafting plan, free elections for parliament positions and a new national government.
According to the embassy, about 400 U.S. personnel and equipment would continue to flow into Turkey over the next several days by U.S. military airlift.
The deployment of six Patriot batteries -- two each from Germany, the Netherlands and the United States -- is in response to Turkey's request to NATO against possible missile threat from Syria.
All the batteries will be under NATO's command and scheduled to be operational by the end of January.
"The forces will augment Turkey's air defense capabilities and contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the Alliance's border," the U.S. embassy said in a statement.
The duration of the deployment will be determined by the contributing nations in coordination with Turkey and NATO, it said.
Hossein Sobhani-Nia, a member of the Iranian Majlis (parliament) Presiding Board, said Friday that the Turkish government is implementing macro-policies drawn up by the Western countries on the ongoing crisis in Syria.
"Ankara would spell its doom" by making interference in regional states, Sobhani-Nia was quoted as saying by Press TV.
He warned that some Arab states in the region and Western countries seek to cause tension in Ankara-Damascus relations to "achieve their objective and overthrow the government of President al-Assad."
Iran is the major regional ally of the Syrian government in its conflict with the armed opposition groups.
Violence in Syria has been gaining momentum and shown no sign of abating, as an increasing number of foreign jihadists are allegedly fighting alongside the rebels across the country against the government troops.
According to the United Nations, more than 60,000 people have died in Syria's conflict.
