NATO Secretary -General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that he is returning to Germany to decide whether it wants to provide Ukraine with the “Patriot” missile interception system that was dedicated to Poland, after Warsaw asked for Berlin.
Berlin offered the deployment of part of the Patriot systems that it owned in Poland after a Polish village witnessed a explosion last week that resulted in deaths and believed to be a Ukrainian air defensive missile.
But the Polish authorities suggested that Berlin extradite this system instead to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against the Russian bombing.
“I welcome the German show to strengthen the air defenses of Poland through the proposal to deploy Patriot missiles,” Stoltenberg said, noting that any plans to send specific weapons to Ukraine are “national decisions. ”
“Sometimes there are agreements for users and other things that make them need to consult with other allies.
But in the end, the decision is taken by national governments. ”
German Defense Secretary Christine Lambrech said Thursday that this request should be “discussed with NATO. ”
A German government spokeswoman confirmed on Friday that Berlin had taken note of Warsaw’s proposal. “We are currently discussing this with our partners,” she added.
The alliance countries have so far sent weapons worth billions of dollars to Ukraine to help them fight the Russian invasion, including modern air defense systems.
In this context, Stoltenberg confirmed that he will urge the foreign ministers of alliance countries who will meet in Bucharest next week, to accelerate the pace of deliveries to Ukraine.
He pointed out that “the best way to increase the opportunities to reach a peaceful solution is to support Ukraine,” adding that the alliance “will continue for this reason to stand with Ukraine, whatever the matter. ” “We will not back down,” he said.
Early this month, Kyiv received the German Airis-IRA defense system as part of the efforts of Western countries to enhance Ukraine’s protection from Russian strikes.
The United States and other alliance countries have so far avoided providing Ukraine with the Patriot system manufactured by the American company “Riton”, which is an essential tool of air defenses for the alliance in the eastern region.
Washington has deployed the “Patriot” defensive missiles in Poland, while Berlin was deployed in Slovakia..
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