Patriots likely to be deployed in Kahramanmaraş: German deputy

ISTANBUL

A patriot missile, REUTERS photo

The Patriot missiles that Turkey has demanded from NATO are most likely to be deployed in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş, German Deputy Prime Minister Michael Link has said, according to daily Radikal.

"The Patriots are probably going to be deployed at a location in the province of Kahramanmaraş. Thus, they won't be near Syrian airspace,” he said.

Several diplomatic sources have already indicated that Germany was against deploying the missiles to a point very close to the Syrian border.

Kahramanmaraş is reportedly seen as a location that is close enough to protect Turkey against a potential attack but far enough away to discourage a Syrian attack as the province does not share a border with Syria.

A delegation of Turkish and NATO officials started a site survey in eastern Anatolia at the end of November for the deployment of the Patriot missile defense systems.