Germany to move Slovakia-based Patriot system to Lithuania to protect NATO summit

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany will move its Patriot missile defence system currently stationed in Slovakia to Lithuania to protect a NATO summit scheduled for July in Vilnius, the country's defense ministry said in a statement.

Germany has stationed two Patriot units in Slovakia and three in Poland.

"For the ground-based air defence (at the NATO summit), we will move our Patriot units from Slovakia and supporting elements from Poland to Lithuania," the defence ministry said, adding this would end the deployment to Slovakia.

A spokesperson for the ministry declined to give details on what elements from the mission in Poland the deployment will comprise.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Christoph SteitzEditing by Frances Kerry)