Erdogan asks the US for Patriot air defense systems in order to shoot down Russian planes.

Contrary to the fact that Turkey calls itself an important strategic ally of Russia, it became known that a few days ago, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with US President Donald Trump, asking him to provide Patriot air defense missile systems to Turkey to defeat Russian military aircraft over Syria.

According to Bloomberg, the need for the Patriot air defense system lies in the fact that these air defense systems will be located several kilometers from the Syrian-Turkish border and will have to cover Turkish combat aircraft from the Russian S-400, Syrian S-300 and these air forces. two states.

“According to a senior Turkish official in Ankara, Turkey asked the United States to deploy two Patriot missile defense batteries on its southern border in order to begin punishing Damascus for any future attacks by Syrian troops supported by Russia. Information was disclosed almost immediately on Thursday after the outbreak of violence, as a result of which two Turkish soldiers were killed and five injured, emphasizing that two regional leaders of power asserted their influence in northwestern Syria. As a result of hostilities, the number of Turkish troops killed in the Idlib region over the past three weeks has increased to at least 15, as pro-government forces backed by Russian aviation seek to crush the opposition’s last major pocket. An official familiar with Turkish politics in Syria said Ankara could use F-16 military aircraft to strike units loyal to Assad in Idlib if the Patriot were deployed in Hatay province on the Turkish border to provide protection. "- сообщает Bloomberg

At the same time, the Russian information publication Lenta.ru сообщает that the key reason for Turkey’s interest in the American Patriot is the need to “contain Russia in Idlib”:

“Ankara asked Washington to place two batteries on the southern border. She explained her request by the need to “contain Russia in Idlib” in northwestern Syria and the ability to respond to any future attacks by the Syrian army with the support of Russian forces ”

It should be clarified that the Russian side has not yet responded to the appearance of such information.