Nato has said it will look at Turkey’s request to deploy Patriot missiles along its border with Syria.
The bloc’s chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the request would be considered “without delay”.
Rasmussen said on Wednesday that he had received a request for the deployment on Wednesday.
If accepted, he said it would "augment Turkey's air defence capabilities" and "contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along Nato's south-eastern border".
Germany has already said it is pushing Nato to approve the request.
"It would be a serious mistake if we were to refuse defensive support to a Nato member country in a moment when this member country feels that it is exposed to attacks from outside," said Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
Last month several exchanges of fire occurred after a Syrian mortar attack killed Turkish civilians.
