Turkey gains a radar, loses neighborly trust

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NEW YORK - Ankara's decision to host an anti-missile radar on its border has elicited strong objections from Tehran and Moscow, bringing Turkey closer to the West while exacting a heavy price on its valued relations with some of its eastern neighbors.

A major concession to the United States' European arm of its global missile shield system, Turkey hosting an early-warning radar as part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) defense system is bound to build a wall of distrust with countries such as Iran and Russia, which are cooperating on finding a suitable exit from crisis by the embattled Syrian regime.

The radar would help protect against ballistic-missile threats and was part of a strategic initiative agreed on at a NATO summit in Lisbon last year, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

In a sign of stiffening opposition to the radar, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ramin Mehmanparast, has stated, "We stand up firmly against any issue that raises concern for our national security, such as the NATO radar in Turkey."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MI13Ak02.html