Mariano Rajoy visits Spanish unit in Adana (Turkey)

Adana, Turkey

The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, travelled to the Turkish base in Adana, close to the border with Syria, where more than 100 Spanish servicemen are in charge of a battery of Patriot missiles, within the NATO operation to protect Turkey from possible Jihadi attacks.

The President of the Government stressed that this is the first time that Spain has deployed an anti-missile defence system abroad and said that the mission being carried out by these military personnel, which is strictly defensive, seeks to defend the population and territory of Turkey, together with other allies. He explained that this represents "the essence and founding principle of NATO: solidarity with one of our allies".

According to the President of the Government, Spain has not skimped in its efforts as "a reliable and committed ally. We want a fully committed NATO that is capable of exporting security and stability in its own back garden and that it is seen as a global player".

Mariano Rajoy stressed that we will never renounce the defence of the "supreme value of human life and liberty", and we are aware that the best way to do this is in close cooperation with our allies. According to the President of the Government "against global threats, the response must be global, with growing cooperation and increasingly better prepared", since each day we observe "with horror" that no-one is safe from "senselessness and fanaticism".