Berlin is not planing to withdraw its forces from Incirlik Airbase in Turkey, contrary to recent media reports, a spokesman for the German Federal Ministry of Defense told Sputnik on Friday.sputniknews.com reports:
On Thursday, Der Spiegel magazine reported that Germany is
preparing to pull out its forces from the airbase in southern Turkey,
where some 240 soldiers have been stationed since last December to aid
the multinational coalition in the fight against the Daesh jihadist
group. According to the magazine, the defense ministry was examining
whether it could redeploy them to Jordan or Cyprus.
"Germany does not plan to move its forces from Turkey. We have made good
experiences in the cooperation with the Turkish Air Force," the
spokesman asserted, although he allowed that at the same time "prudent
military planning always considers alternatives." First suggestions that the German military contingent may be withdrawn
from Turkey emerged following Turkey's refusal to let Germany's
parliamentary members visit the base in June, stating that only
"technical and military personnel" were allowed to visit the base, not
politicians.
The German mandate in Incirlik runs out at the end of 2016, and the
Social Democratic Party of Germany, which governs in coalition with the
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, has threatened to block
its extension.
The Incirlik Airbase military base hosts six German Tornado
reconnaissance jets aircraft, as well as jets from the United States,
the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Qatar who are participating in the
US-led coalition against Daesh, which is outlawed in many countries
including Russia. Germany is also participating in a separate NATO AWACS
airborne warning mission from a different Turkish air base.