Turkey says Syria may use chemical weapons against it

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 13 / Trend A.Badalova / Syria may use chemical weapons against Turkey, and this threat could be countered by NATO Patriot missiles, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said in an interview with Financial Times. "It is known that Syria has chemical weapons and they have old Soviet delivery systems, so if there is in some eventuality some sort of madness in this respect and some action is taken, contingency planning has to be put in place and this is something NATO is doing," Gul said. Earlier NATO's chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the Alliance is ready to help member state Turkey as the 20-month conflict in Syria is increasingly spilling across the border. Relations between Turkey and Syria worsened after the incident at the border on Oct.3, when Syria artillery killed five people and injured 11 in the territory of the Turkish district Akcakale. Turkish parliament approved issuing a mandate for cross-border military operations against Syria in response to the shelling of the Turkish city of Sanlıurfa by the Syrian army. Anti-government protests have continued in Syria for a year and half. According to UN, the total number of victims of the conflict in Syria is nearing 30,000. Over 230,000 have become refugees with around three million in need of humanitarian assistance. The Syrian authorities say they oppose the well-armed militants. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az