German soldiers stand guard next to a Patriot air defense missile system. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
On May 26, the German Defense Ministry announced that the country will ensure security for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit held in Lithuania next July with Patriot missile batteries.
The German Defense Ministry's announcement stated that for ground-based air defense systems, Germany will transfer Patriot batteries from Slovakia and support components from Poland to Lithuania, and will also end the activities of the multinational air defense and missile defense task force in Slovakia, which was deployed immediately after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine last year.
The statement stressed that Berlin will provide land, sea and air capabilities to ensure security for the NATO Summit scheduled to take place on July 11-12 in Vilnius (Lithuania), at NATO's request.
The German Defense Ministry did not give further details but said Berlin would deploy units that are already deployed on NATO's eastern flank or could be operated from Germany.
According to the German Ministry of Defense, Berlin will continue to support Slovakia, including adding more air surveillance radars, and offering to support air defense forces in controlling the country's airspace.
Earlier, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed that NATO partners had asked Berlin to use Germany's Patriot air defense system to protect the NATO Summit, where the path forward for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will be discussed.
Regarding NATO expansion, when asked about Ukraine's desire to be officially invited by NATO to join the organization at the upcoming summit in Lithuania, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on May 26 that the NATO Summit in Vilnius will mainly discuss the organization of specific support for Ukraine in the current context, discuss ways to improve cooperation in specific situations and clarify that support for Ukraine will continue as long as necessary.
The German leader's statement, along with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's statement a day earlier that NATO member countries still have different views on Ukraine's admission, shows that Kiev's wishes are unlikely to come true at the upcoming NATO Summit./.
Manh Hung (VietnamPlus)
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