“We do not think this is the best time to withdraw these batteries”, said one senior Turkish diplomat.
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Turkey has been complaining about harassment of its jets on border patrols for the past week.
According to Turkish Defense Ministry, the Patriot assets and personnel were deployed in Gaziantep after Turkey appealed to its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies to guard against any Syrian missile threat.
Turkish General Chief of Staff said three out of 12 F-16 fighter jets were patrolling the Turkish-Syrian borders for two minutes.
“We, Turkey and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have more than adequate capabilities to defend Turkey’s airspace”, the official said.
The Pentagon said this year that the battery of missile defense systems, originally sent to Turkey in January 2013, would take a one-way trip to the U.S.in October for upgrades.
In August, Germany said it would end its contribution to the anti-missile mission in Turkey.
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In a statement, the army talked about its counter action but it did not specify what steps it took to protect its forces.
