Spain has extended the deployment of its Patriot air defense system as part of a NATO mission in Türkiye until June 2023, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced in a written statement on Nov. 13.
According to the statement, the decision for the extension of the Patriot deployment and the stay of the Spanish military contingent was taken by Spain. It also informed that Defense Minister Hulusi Akar called his Spanish counterpart, Margarita Robles, and thanked her for the extension of the Patriot deployment. Akar also applauded Spain for acting in line with the allied spirit.
Spain deployed its Patriot air defense system in 2015 in the southern province of Adana in protection of the Turkish air space against the Syrian threat. Before Spain, Germany, the United States and the Netherlands also deployed Patriot systems in Türkiye, but they later withdrew them. Spain replaced the Dutch Patriot contingent in 2015.
It is now the only NATO country that continues to have its air defense system deployed on Turkish soil.
Ankara had demanded the deployment of air defense systems from NATO in 2012 against Syrian missile attacks. In the early years of the Syrian civil war, missiles launched from Syria hit the Turkish residential areas killing civilians in the bordering towns.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
