German, Dutch and Turkish defense ministers gathered for a joint visit [Feb. 23] to NATO Patriot batteries deployed to Turkey that had been declared fully operational two weeks earlier. Ismet Yilmaz, Turkey’s defense minister, took the occasion to “thank [his] fellow ministers from Germany and the Netherlands for their important contribution.”

This event marked the final step in a NATO build-up that had been scrutinized in the last months by all the stakeholders of the Syrian conflict. It was then followed two days later by the visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Turkey, a trip that included a meeting with NATO German Patriot missile batteries' troops.

Officially Turkey requested the deployment of six Patriot batteries in November following multiple incidents at its borders with Syria, such as the shelling by Syrian forces of Turkish town of Akcakale [Oct. 3] that led to the death of five civilians and retaliation by Turkish artillery. As a result, NATO’s North Atlantic Council hold consultations which resulted in the decision by Germany, Netherlands and the United States to contribute to Turkey’s defense by providing two Patriot batteries each that are under NATO command.

This NATO move was quickly condemned by Russia, which read it as an aggressive measure more likely to engender clashes than bringing peace. Additionally Syrian and Iranian officials portrayed the deployment as a tangible evidence of NATO’s hegemonic agenda on the Middle East. Bashar al-Assad repeated this narrative during his last interview with German television.