The United States and Germany have both announced they plan to pull their Patriot missile batteries from Turkey following a reassessment of the threat from Syria.
Both nations deployed the anti-missile defensive batteries on the southern Turkish border in 2013 in response to a request submitted to NATO by Ankara over “spillage” from the Syrian civil war.
Additional Patriot missile batteries were provided by the Netherlands as well, but were withdrawn earlier this year, and replaced instead by units from Spain.
The Patriot units from the United States will be returned stateside, ostensibly for “upgrades,” according to a joint Turkish-U.S. statement issued on Sunday.
“The United States and NATO are committed to supporting Turkey’s security and regional stability,” the statement said. “If needed, the United States is prepared to return Patriot assets and personnel to Turkey within one week.”
Germany, meanwhile, has said it will shut down its Patriot program altogether.
German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced last week that Berlin will allow its three-year Patriot mission simply to lapse in January rather than seek parliamentary approval for renewal, Reuters reported.
“The threat in this war-torn region has shifted in focus,” von der Leyen said in a statement on the German defense ministry’s website. “It now stems from the terror organization Islamic State. Therefore, we will remain engaged in the region in a continued effort to stabilize it.”
