Germany says it has no plans to send additional military support to the Middle East, after European allies announced plans to move forces to the eastern Mediterranean following a drone strike at a British airbase in Cyprus, Reuters reports.

Germany’s navy participates in the long-running United Nations UNIFIL monitoring mission in Lebanon, but the defence ministry said the military’s focus remained on Nato defence operations in eastern Europe.

“Germany is currently not planning any additional military capabilities beyond its existing contributions to international missions in the Middle East,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement said the anti-aircraft frigate “Sachsen” was currently taking part in Nato’s Cold Response exercise in the Arctic.

The statement from the ministry reiterated comments from Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who declared in parliament: “Germany is not a party in this war. The Bundeswehr (German armed forces) is not taking part in this war.”