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Russia warns Turkey against deploying Patriot missiles near Syria

22 November 2012 13:54 (UTC +04:00)

"The militarization of the Syrian-Turkish border is of course a worrying sign," foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told a briefing. Turkey, he said, should use its influence with the Syrian opposition to help the two sides in the civil war start a dialogue as soon as possible instead of "flexing muscles and placing the situation on a dangerous course."

"Such steps clearly do not add optimism from the point of view of a political settlement," he told reporters regarding the possible missile placement.

He added it would contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along NATO's southeastern border, where Turkey has frequently retaliated for Syrian mortar fire into Turkish territory.