Turkish-German showdown over Incirlik Air Base
Ankara’s refusal to allow German lawmakers to visit their troops at Incirlik is forcing Berlin to look elsewhere in the region to redeploy its forces, which could result in the loss of prestige for Turkey.
Turkey and Germany are heading for a showdown over Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, which could hamper operations against the Islamic State conducted out of the base and further damage Ankara’s already tarnished image in NATO.
At issue is Turkey’s refusal to allow German parliamentarians from visiting their troops at Incirlik. Ankara initially made this decision in retaliation against the adoption by the German parliament in June 2016 of a resolution referring to the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 as “genocide.”
German media reports show that Ankara is already feeling the fallout from its dispute with Berlin. Germany reportedly headed the list of countries that refused to accept President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation during last week’s NATO summit to hold next year’s alliance summit in Istanbul.
In the meantime, Germany is considering redeploying the 260 soldiers and the reconnaissance aircraft it has in Incirlik to Jordan if an agreement with Ankara cannot be reached by mid-June.
