Syria rips NATO missile move
Source: Agencies |
December 7, 2012, Friday
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SYRIA sharply criticized NATO's move to deploy Patriot missiles along its border with Turkey, calling the decision "provocative," as the West took a major step toward a possible military role in the civil war.
After getting Cabinet approval, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere said two German Patriot batteries with a total of 400 soldiers would be sent to the border area under NATO command for one year, although the deployment could be shortened.
The announcement also appeared to be a message to Assad's government at a time when Washington and other governments fear Syria may be readying its chemical weapons stockpiles for possible use as fighting with the rebels in the capital, Damascus, and other areas intensifies.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated concerns on Wednesday that "an increasingly desperate Assad regime might turn to chemical weapons" or lose control of them to militant groups.
Clinton met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday in Ireland. They were scheduled to discuss a way forward in Syria with the UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi.
In Iraq, US Under Secretary of Defense Dr James Miller reiterated the Obama administration's stance that use of chemical weapons is a "red line." The administration has said their use would bring a US response.
Syria's deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad denounced the NATO move and the chemical weapons "chorus" as part of a conspiracy that is possibly laying out the foundations for a military intervention in Syria.
Syria has not confirmed it has chemical weapons while insisting it would never use them against its own people
"I repeat for the hundredth time that even if such weapons exist in Syria, they will not be used against the Syrian people," Mekdad said.
After getting Cabinet approval, German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere said two German Patriot batteries with a total of 400 soldiers would be sent to the border area under NATO command for one year, although the deployment could be shortened.
The announcement also appeared to be a message to Assad's government at a time when Washington and other governments fear Syria may be readying its chemical weapons stockpiles for possible use as fighting with the rebels in the capital, Damascus, and other areas intensifies.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated concerns on Wednesday that "an increasingly desperate Assad regime might turn to chemical weapons" or lose control of them to militant groups.
Clinton met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov yesterday in Ireland. They were scheduled to discuss a way forward in Syria with the UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi.
In Iraq, US Under Secretary of Defense Dr James Miller reiterated the Obama administration's stance that use of chemical weapons is a "red line." The administration has said their use would bring a US response.
Syria's deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad denounced the NATO move and the chemical weapons "chorus" as part of a conspiracy that is possibly laying out the foundations for a military intervention in Syria.
Syria has not confirmed it has chemical weapons while insisting it would never use them against its own people
"I repeat for the hundredth time that even if such weapons exist in Syria, they will not be used against the Syrian people," Mekdad said.
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