The United States and Germany said they will pull Patriot missile batteries from southern Turkey after a reassessment of the threats stemming from the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

The US Patriots, in Turkey as part of a broader Nato mission since 2013, will be redeployed to the US for upgrades, according to a joint Turkish-US statement yesterday.

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced at the weekend that Berlin would let its three-year Patriot mission lapse in January instead of seeking parliamentary approval to extend it.

Germany, the US and the Netherlands all deployed Patriots in early 2013 after Turkey asked its fellow Nato partners for help in protecting its territory amid an escalating civil war in Syria.

The Dutch ended their mission earlier this year and were replaced by the Spanish.

“The US and Nato are committed to supporting Turkey’s security and regional stability,” the US-Turkish statement said.

“If needed, the US is prepared to return Patriot assets and personnel to Turkey within one week.”

The decision comes less than a month after Turkey opened its air bases to US fighter jets launching air strikes against Islamic State in Syria.

Von der Leyen said the nature of the threat to Turkey from Syria had changed from one stemming mainly from President Bashar al-Assad to that posed by jihadist rebels.

“The threat in this war-torn region has shifted in focus,” she said in a statement on the German defence ministry’s website.

“It now stems from the terror organisation Islamic State. Therefore, we will remain engaged in the region in a continued effort to stabilise it.”