Turkey to allow German visit to Konya airbase under NATO’s watch
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A German parliamentary delegation will be permitted to visit their troops stationed at Turkey’s Konya airbase in a trip facilitated by NATO after Turkey had earlier barred the delegation from the base, Turkey’s foreign ministry announced.
“The visit is planned to take place on 8 September as a NATO activity with the participation of a high level NATO official,” the ministry said in a statement published on its website on Thursday.
The agreement was reached after consultations between the two nations’ foreign ministers and with the facilitation of NATO’s secretary general, the statement read. Details of the trip are still being finalized by NATO.
In July, Turkey blocked German lawmakers from visiting the NATO airbase in Konya amid increasing tensions between Berlin and Ankara.
Similar incidents in the past prompted Germany to move their military aircraft and roughly 250 troops from Turkey’s Incirlik airbase to Jordan. These troops are participating in the US-led coalition’s fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Germany’s foreign ministry reacted to the confirmation their lawmakers could visit the airbase, tweeting on Wednesday, “We welcome the concrete date for a visit of the Members of Bundestag [parliament] to our soldiers in Konya” and thanked NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg.
Ministry spokesperson Martin Schaefer said at a press conference “We have a firm commitment from the Turkish government that such a visit can take place, and we will hold them to it.”
While Germany will select the delegates to take part in the visit, the ministry said it is ultimately up to Turkey who they allow to enter the base, the New York Times reported.
Ankara became angry earlier this year when Berlin banned Turkish politicians from campaigning in Germany ahead of Turkey's constitutional referendum, citing security concerns. Turkey responded to the ban by accusing Berlin of “Nazi-like” tactics.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said his government has been concerned for years over issues like “restrictions on the freedom of the press, treatment of the Kurdish minority” in Turkey, adding in a recent interview with Badische Zeitung that he does not see “any indication of a fundamental change in policy at the moment” in Ankara.
There are nine German citizens arrested in Turkey on unknown or far-fetched charges, Gabriel said. “No one who treats Germans in this way can seriously expect us to carry on with our political and economic relations as if everything in the garden were rosy.”
“The visit is planned to take place on 8 September as a NATO activity with the participation of a high level NATO official,” the ministry said in a statement published on its website on Thursday.
The agreement was reached after consultations between the two nations’ foreign ministers and with the facilitation of NATO’s secretary general, the statement read. Details of the trip are still being finalized by NATO.
In July, Turkey blocked German lawmakers from visiting the NATO airbase in Konya amid increasing tensions between Berlin and Ankara.
Similar incidents in the past prompted Germany to move their military aircraft and roughly 250 troops from Turkey’s Incirlik airbase to Jordan. These troops are participating in the US-led coalition’s fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Germany’s foreign ministry reacted to the confirmation their lawmakers could visit the airbase, tweeting on Wednesday, “We welcome the concrete date for a visit of the Members of Bundestag [parliament] to our soldiers in Konya” and thanked NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg.
Ministry spokesperson Martin Schaefer said at a press conference “We have a firm commitment from the Turkish government that such a visit can take place, and we will hold them to it.”
While Germany will select the delegates to take part in the visit, the ministry said it is ultimately up to Turkey who they allow to enter the base, the New York Times reported.
Ankara became angry earlier this year when Berlin banned Turkish politicians from campaigning in Germany ahead of Turkey's constitutional referendum, citing security concerns. Turkey responded to the ban by accusing Berlin of “Nazi-like” tactics.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said his government has been concerned for years over issues like “restrictions on the freedom of the press, treatment of the Kurdish minority” in Turkey, adding in a recent interview with Badische Zeitung that he does not see “any indication of a fundamental change in policy at the moment” in Ankara.
There are nine German citizens arrested in Turkey on unknown or far-fetched charges, Gabriel said. “No one who treats Germans in this way can seriously expect us to carry on with our political and economic relations as if everything in the garden were rosy.”