Germany in talks with Poland about Patriot missile system: Defense Ministry

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) – Germany is in talks with Warsaw for the delivery of the Patriot missile defense system, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Monday, days after a stray missile crashed in Poland and killed two people.

“We are in intensive contact with Poland. The Polish side received this offer from us after the missile hits. We will coordinate with the Polish side and then provide more information,”David Helmbold told journalists in Berlin.

“As a whole, the offer includes air policing and the Patriot system,” he added.

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht earlier told a local news outlet that Germany has “offered Poland support in securing the airspace – with our Eurofighters and with Patriot air defense systems.”

The missile incident in Poland shows that NATO’s air defenses must be improved, she stressed.

“This is particularly true with regard to NATO partners such as Poland, Slovakia, and the Baltic states, which directly border Russia and Ukraine,” the minister told the Rheinische Post.

According to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, the missile that landed in Poland last week was apparently fired by a Ukrainian air defense system and was not a Russian strike.