Germany Mulling Pullout From Turkish Airbase: Report
Fakhir Rizvi Published August 25, 2016 | 03:19 PM
BERLIN, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -25th Augst,2016) - Germany's military is preparing to pull out from a Turkish airbase as a row between the two NATO partners escalates, Der Spiegel magazine reported Thursday. Germany in December agreed to send Tornado surveillance jets and tanker aircraft to the Incirlik base in southern Turkey to aid the multinational coalition fighting the jihadist Islamic State group and currently has about 240 soldiers stationed there. But Turkey has repeatedly refused to allow visits to Incirlik by German politicians, prompting junior coalition partner the Social Democrats (SPD) to demand Germany's withdrawal from the airbase. Germany's military is a parliamentary force, meaning that MPs have decision-making power over deployments. A German mandate in Incirlik runs out at the end of the year, and the SPD has threatened to block its extension.
"If it is no longer possible to visit our soldiers, then it is out of the question to extend the mandate," Rainer Arnold, the SPD's defence expert, told Spiegel. Without citing its sources, the news magazine said the defence ministry is examining whether it could transfer its deployment to Jordan or Cyprus instead. Tensions have been rising between Germany and Turkey over the German parliament's decision to brand as genocide the World War I-era massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces, as well as Ankara's threat to back out of a crucial March deal with the EU on migrants. Berlin also angered Ankara by criticising President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's post-coup crackdown, in which more than 40,000 state employees have been arrested.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Journalists call for global action to end Gaza’s humanitarian crisis
CM for generating opportunities to bring direct int'l investment
Pakistan retains position in FTSE secondary emerging market
High Commissioner of Malaysia hosts Iftar dinner reception
NEPRA announces 2nd quarterly adjustment in power bills with Rs 1.68 cut per uni ..
Hoopo Inc. Collaborates with SAU to Install Solar-Powered RO Plant
04 killed in Spain as Storm Nelson looms
Russian military jet crashes into sea off Crimea: Governor
Rain-windstorm/thunderstorm likely at various parts of country
Implementation of Sindh Agriculture Workers Act-2019 demanded
Pandemic accord talks heading for extra time
Khawaja reiterates PM commitment to judiciary
More Stories From World
-
France asks for foreign help for Olympics security: officials
18 minutes ago -
04 killed in Spain as Storm Nelson looms
40 minutes ago -
Russian military jet crashes into sea off Crimea: Governor
47 minutes ago -
Pandemic accord talks heading for extra time
36 minutes ago -
French parliament backs bill against hair discrimination affecting black women
36 minutes ago -
Russia says 'evidence' links Ukraine to Moscow attack
38 minutes ago
-
Russian shelling kills three in Ukraine, officials say
47 minutes ago -
'Several' nations to send soldiers to help secure Paris Olympics: France
36 minutes ago -
France blocks fake Ukraine war recruitment website
36 minutes ago -
New Senegal president's home village full of pride, hope & advice
35 minutes ago -
What do scientists hope to learn from total solar eclipse in US?
35 minutes ago -
Russia says has evidence Moscow attackers were linked to Kyiv
2 hours ago