- Title: German lawmakers visit Turkey's Incirlik air base after row ends
- Date: 5th October 2016
- Summary: ADANA, TURKEY (OCTOBER 5, 2016) (REUTERS) CARGO PLANE WITH MEMBERS OF THE GERMAN PARLIAMENT'S DEFENCE COMMITTEE ON BOARD LANDING AT INCIRLIK AIR BASE INCIRLIK AIR BASE CARGO PLANE TAXIING ON RUNWAY TURKISH FLAG IN INCIRLIK AIR BASE VARIOUS OF CARGO PLANE TAXIING ON TARMAC U.S. JET TAKING OFF FROM INCIRLIK RADAR TOWER AT INCIRLIK U.S. JET TAKING OFF FROM INCIRLIK
- Embargoed: 20th October 2016 13:06
- Keywords: Turkey Germany Incirlik lawmakers visits troops air base
- Location: ADANA TURKEY
- City: ADANA TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00152QBOSN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A delegation of German lawmakers visited Incirlik air base in southern Turkey on Wednesday (October 5), state-run Anadolu Agency said, defusing a months-long row that had prevented them meeting troops serving in the coalition against Islamic State.
Turkey in June barred the politicians from the base, where about 200 German troops are stationed, in response to a resolution in the German parliament declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a genocide.
In July, Turkey briefly grounded coalition airplanes at Incirlik after an abortive military coup and amid concerns that rogue troops might try to flee the country from the base.
The U.S. Air Force has around 5,000 airmen at Incirlik, which serves as a critical hub in the U.S.-led coalition trying to defeat Islamic State over the borders in Syria and Iraq.
Chancellor Angela Merkel in September persuaded President Tayyip Erdogan to allow the parliamentarians to visit. Their trip is taking place with little publicity, with Anadolu saying it was closed to the press.
The NATO allies have crossed swords in recent months over the flow of migrants to Europe through Turkey and German criticism of the response to the coup attempt, which has included a purge of security and civil service personnel and the arrests of more than 30,000 people.
German prosecutors said on Tuesday they had dropped an investigation of a comedian who was accused of offending a foreign leader after reciting an obscene poem about Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on national television. Erdogan had filed a complaint against the comedian, Jan Boehmermann.
The German Air Force has kept Tornado surveillance jets and a refuelling plane at Incirlik to contribute to the fight against Islamic State. The German soldiers are at Incirlik to help defend Turkish troops against possible attacks from Syria. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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