Germany confirms no plans to send military reinforcements to the Middle East

Berlin, March 5 (QNA) - The German Defense Ministry announced today that it does not plan to send military reinforcements to the Middle East in response to the military escalation in the region, stressing that this applies to reports that it is considering the possibility of sending an additional frigate to Cyprus.

The German news agency (dpa) quoted a spokesman for the Defense Ministry as saying: 'We are in close contact with our allies and partners, including Cyprus, regarding the current security situation in the Middle East,' adding that Germany is not currently planning to send additional military capabilities beyond its contributions to ongoing missions.

The spokesman explained that these missions are the international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), participation in the UNIFIL force in Lebanon, the European mission Aspides, and the NATO mission in Iraq.

The spokesman added: 'We do not plan to send an air defense frigate; the frigate 'Sachsen' is currently participating in the NATO exercise Cold Response and is part of Operation Arctic Sentry - Guardian of the Arctic, which represents an important contribution to the security of the North Atlantic and the Arctic region.'

The spokesman referred to what German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said before the parliament yesterday, Wednesday, stressing that Germany is not a party to the war, and that the German army will not participate in this war.