BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Defence Ministry said any decisions on its deployment of Patriot air-defence systems to Poland and Slovakia will be discussed with allies in Europe, after a report said Berlin planned to end the deployment by the end of the year.
The planned end to the deployment was reported by the Funke media report, citing a defence ministry spokesperson. The report said the nations had been informed about the plans.
“The statements on deployment plans of our Patriot squadrons in Poland and Slovakia referred to original plans,” the ministry later said in a statement.
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius will discuss and coordinate the matter with partners at Friday’s meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Ramstein, it added.
The ministry said decisions are made “in close coordination with SACEUR (NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe) and always require a separate political decision”.
Berlin offered to deploy three of its Patriot units to Poland last year after two men were killed by a stray Ukrainian missile that struck near the Polish border last November.
The air defence system started arriving in Slovakia from NATO partner countries last March, shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, to help reinforce the defence of NATO’s eastern flank.
Germany has also delivered a Patriot system to Ukraine to support the country in the war against Russia.
(Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Miranda Murray)
