U.S. comments on requesting Turkey for Patriot missiles

The Turkish government recently asked the U.S. to deploy Patriot air defense systems on Turkey’s southern border, a U.S. official said.

"We're aware of a request for Patriot systems but understand no decision has been made," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said the request had been made "recently," Anadolu Agency reported.

Earlier in the day, citing a Turkish official in Ankara, Bloomberg reported that Turkey asked the U.S. to deploy two Patriot missile-defense batteries “to free it to punish any future attacks” by Syrian regime forces backed by Russia.