German military mulls options if planes withdrawn from Turkish base
BERLIN -- Germany still wants its military to use Turkey's Incirlik Air Base for reconnaissance flights in the fight against ISIS, but is looking for alternatives due to a dispute with Ankara, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
A ministry spokesman said the armed forces were studying other basing options for six reconnaissance planes, a refuelling plane and 250 soldiers if German lawmakers vote to end the use of the base over Ankara's refusal to allow them to visit.
"The Bundeswehr (armed forces) would like to continue the joint fight against ISIS from the NATO base at Incirlik," Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland media group.
Such work was in the mutual interest of both countries, she said.
Der Spiegel magazine reported on Thursday that the armed forces were studying whether they could move the planes and troops to Jordan or Cyprus. Such a move would interrupt the flights for at least two months, it said.
Rainer Arnold, defense spokesman for the Social Democrats, junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition government, told Reuters his party would demand an end to use of the base if Turkey refused to allow parliamentarians to visit.
"We will only send our soldiers to countries where we can be certain that we can visit them," Arnold told Reuters.
Without the SDP's approval, the government cannot extend the mission when it expires in December.
