Germany pulls out of NATO operations in Mediterranean

Mar 22, 2011, 19:14 GMT

Berlin - Germany has pulled out of NATO operations in the Mediterranean, the defence ministry said Tuesday, following the military alliance's involvement in the Libya conflict.

A ministry spokesman said two frigates and two other ships with a total of 550 crew members had been placed back under German command.

It was not immediately clear if the vessels would remain in the Mediterranean.

Some 60 to 70 German troops participating in NATO airborne surveillance operations in the Mediterranean would also be withdrawn, the defence ministry said.

NATO had earlier begun a naval operation to enforce the arms embargo authorized by the United Nations Security Council against Libya.

'Because there is a component to the arms embargo that envisages the use of force if necessary, Germany decided it would not be part of such action,' the spokesman said.

Germany was involved in three NATO operations in the Mediterranean, including the anti-terror mission Active Endeavour.

Germany abstained from Thursday's Security Council resolution mandating a no-fly zone in Libya.

'We remain sceptical,' Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Tuesday, referring to the no-fly zone implemented to stop Colonel Moamer Gaddafi's forces from attacking civilians.

He added that the Security Council resolution meant the zone was now 'applicable international law' and Germany was complying with it.

He repeated his justification for Germany's abstention in the vote: that Germany was determined not to become a military partner in the operation.

'We will not be committing the German armed forces,' he said. 'If we had supported the resolution, this would be at issue now.'

Read more about Germany

Read more about Libya Conflict