Turkey has said NATO’s pending deployment of early warning radar system is only for defense and are only against arms, referring to missiles from non-state actors.

President Abdullah Gül told reporters late on Thursday, September 8, upon his return from Moscow that Russia is a strategic partner of Russia and that NATO’s to-be-deployed radar system is only for defense purposes. He said he discussed these issues with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, stressing Russia’s increasingly cooperative and close role with the world’s largest military alliance.

Turkey has recently agreed to host the early warning radar as part of NATO's missile defense system aimed at countering ballistic missile threats from neighboring Iran.

The Turkish and US governments said last Friday the radar system will help spot missile threats coming from outside Europe, including potentially from Iran. The system, provided by the United States, is to become operational later this year.

He said arms that pose threat to NATO members are not only about states but could also belong to non-state organizations. “For this reason, this is totally for defense purposes. We are also closely discussing, consulting this issue with the Russian side,” Gül added, Today’s Zaman reported.