ANKARA
Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz attended a reception in Ankara and replied to questions.
The delegation comprised of officials from NATO, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkish Armed Forces have been carrying out a survey in some provinces in Turkey, he said.
Yilmaz said that the delegation were assessing possible sites to install Patriot missiles, stating that NATO team inspected military installations in Malatya province on Wednesday. "They are visiting several provinces. They will prepare a report," he said, adding that he hoped that it would be finalized soon.
NATO team has been assessing possible sites to install Patriot missiles in order to protect Turkey's border with Syria as NATO-member Turkey asked allies to deploy the missiles as a defense against any aerial attack from Syria after mortar rounds and shells from Syria struck Turkish territory.
Syria's conflict started 20 months ago as an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. It quickly morphed into a civil war killing at least 40,000 people so far.
