Turkey Shields Iran from US Missile Defense in Europe

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Latvian Defence Minister Imants Viesturs and US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, Brussels, Oct 14. EPA/BGNES

Turkish officials have said Turkey would oppose plans for a NATO-wide missile defense system in Europe that would single out Iran as a source of threat.

Turkey has recently been approached by the USA, which has sounded out the possibility of locating elements of the US missile shield in Europe on Turkish soil, just ahead of the NATO Summit in Lisbon on November 19-20, when the Alliance is expected to decide on whether to adopt the US project.

Senior Turkish officials have made it clear that styling fellow Muslim Iran – as well as Syria or Russia – as sources of threat to be countered by the future missile shield would not receive Turkey's support, which would cast doubts on the possibility of hosting elements of the shield on Turkish soil, BGNES reported citing international media.

"We do not perceive any threat from any neighbor countries and we do not think our neighbors form a threat to NATO," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at the end of last week.

Turkey has also asked for clarifications on certain technical matters as far as the future missile defense is concerned.

The modified version of the original Bush Administration plan for a missile defense in Europe announced by the Obama Administration at the end of last year has also made possible the stationing of elements of the shield in Romania and Bulgaria.

Romania has already volunteered to host interceptor missiles; Bulgaria has occasionally been mentioned as a potential site for the radar but with the recent dynamic appears to have it made it more likely that Turkey will get to host it.

US and NATO officials have traditionally advertised the future shield as protecting Europe from missiles from North Korea and Iran, and potentially other Middle Eastern states.

Unlike Turkey, which sees no threat from its neighbors Iran and Syria, however, over the past few months Bulgaria's Defense Minister Anyu Angelov mentioned precisely these two states as sources of threat. This led to a scandal with Syria that threatened to break off diplomatic relations, and nearly cost Angelov his post.

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