The White House said Tuesday that NATO would not provide Patriot missile batteries to protect rebel strongholds in Syria, following a request from opposition chief Moaz al-Khatib.
Khatib asked for an extension of the umbrella provided by Patriot positions on the Turkish border designed to intercept missiles fired from the Syrian side as he took his seat at the Arab League of Nations Summit in Doha.
"We are aware of the request," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "At this time, NATO does not intend to intervene militarily in Syria.
"I think that a Patriot missile battery would follow the definition of military assistance," Carney added, saying Patriot anti-missile batteries in Turkey were for self-defense only.
Carney noted that the White House was constantly reviewing its policies in Syria, which have seen Washington give hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid but stop short of providing "lethal" military help.
Syrian National Coalition leader Khatib said in Doha that he had asked US Secretary of State John Kerry to provide Patriot missile protection that encompasses northern Syria. Kerry had "promised to look into the matter."
"We are still awaiting a decision from NATO on this matter," Khatib told the summit.
