German Bundestag OKs withdrawal from Incirlik Air Base

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

The German Bundestag on June 21 approved the decision to withdraw from the Incirlik Air Force Base in southern Turkey.

Berlin decided to withdraw its refueling and reconnaissance aircraft from Turkey's Incirlik base after Turkish side refused to let German lawmakers visit the roughly 250 German troops there. They will move to Azraq, Jordan.

Earlier, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that the refueling plane will be moved as quickly as possible after the end of June and should be back in service in the second half of July.

Von der Leyen explained that moving the six Tornado reconnaissance planes will take two months, from August to September. Those planes should be fully back in service from October.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously said that the withdrawal of the German Air Force contingent from the Incirlik air Base in southern Turkey poses no problem for Ankara.

Turkey remains the key NATO member country in the Middle East. The Incirlik Air Base is one of the main bases of the United States and the alliance in the region. Aircrafts of the countries of the international coalition led by the United States, which participates in air operations against ISIS, are based here.

German military specialists are involved in the formation of crews for AWACS radar reconnaissance aircraft. Berlin also supports the coalition's actions with the help of six reconnaissance planes Tornado, which are deployed in Incirlik. The Bundeswehr's mandate in the Syrian operation does not involve participation in ground operations.