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. Poland's Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said later on Friday that the dialogue on the presence of German Patriot air-defence systems in Poland was continuing.
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.
The ministry said decisions are made "in close coordination with SACEUR (NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe) and always require a separate political decision".
Dialogue on the presence of German Patriot air-defence systems in Poland is continuing, the Polish defence minister said on Friday, after a report said Berlin planned to end the deployment by the end of the year.
"There is openness to talks and as a result of that we are continuing dialogue," Mariusz Błaszczak told reporters at Ramstein air base in Germany.
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.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters