Germany, Turkey fail to break deadlock over air base visit
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey on Monday refused to budge on its refusal to let German lawmakers visit troops stationed at a Turkish air base, a stance that left NATO ally Germany on the verge of a likely decision to move those troops to Jordan.
Speaking after a meeting with his German counterpart that was widely viewed as the last chance to resolve an impasse over the visits, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for “positive steps” on Turkey’s requests for Germany to crack down on Kurdish rebels and alleged coup plotters.
Cavusoglu said Turkey would allow German legislators to visit a NATO base in the central province of Konya, but not Incirlik Air Base, where about 270 German troops are stationed with Tornado reconnaissance jets and a refuelling plane.
The German troops at Incirlik are part of the international coalition against the Islamic State group. German deployments abroad require parliamentary approval, and German leaders say it’s essential that lawmakers be able to visit troops as they want.