ANKARA: Turkey's Foreign Ministry says it has reached agreement on the deployment of a radar on its territory as part of Nato's missile defence system.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the ministry said that discussions ''have reach their final stages.''

Nato members agreed to an anti-missile system over Europe to protect against Iranian ballistic missiles at a summit in Lisbon last year. A compromise was reached with Turkey, which has cultivated close ties with its neighbour Iran and had threatened to block the deal if Iran is explicitly named as a threat.

The ministry statement said the system would strengthen both Nato and Turkey's own defence capacities. It did not say when or where the radar would be stationed.