The Netherlands will end its contribution to Nato’s Patriot anti-ballistic missile defence system in Turkey at the end of January next year, the government has confirmed.

The Netherlands sent two Patriot missile batteries to Turkey in early 2013 to help protect its borders against attacks from Syria. The mission has already been extended for a year.

A Dutch defense ministry spokeswoman told Reuters the Netherlands no longer had the resources to keep its batteries deployed in the field. ‘They’ve been deployed 24/7 for almost two years and you can’t prolong it any longer,’ the spokeswoman said.