Nato’s secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Tuesday that the alliance is ready to defend Turkey against any aggression from Syria, after a week of clashes between the neighbours.
Rasmussen spoke to reporters ahead of a Nato defence ministers’ meeting in Brussels, and said,
"Obviously Turkey can rely on Nato solidarity.
"We have all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary."
Turkey meanwhile has said it will continue to retaliate against attacks by Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian forces.
"Every kind of threat to the Turkish territory and the Turkish people will find us standing against it," Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
"Soldiers loyal to Assad fired shells at us; we immediately reacted and responded with double force. We shall never stop responding."
Syria apologised for the killing of civilians in Turkey last week, which sparked the clashes and saw artillery exchanges between both countries.
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