Germany to pull its troops out of Incirlik

Germany will pull all of its troops and aircraft from Turkey’s Incirlik airbase, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced on June 7.
Approximately 270 troops stationed at Incirlik, as well as Tornado reconnaissance jets and a refueling plane, will be moved to Jordan over the next two months.
Two days earlier, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel announced that Germany would pull its forces, despite negotiations in the Turkish capital with Turkish Foreign Ministry Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The negotiations, which were aimed to defuse the diplomatic dispute between the two countries, fell through according to Gabriel, who made the announcement during a joint press conference with Cavusoglu.
“We have to respect that Turkey for domestic political reasons cannot approve visits. But then you know the opinion of the German parliament which will now in the very near future make reference to that part of the mandate which says that, if visits aren’t possible, the German government will have to look for another location,” Gabriel was quoted as saying by Europe-based Euronews news outlet.
The diplomatic dispute between Germany and Turkey escalated after German Parliamentarians were refused access to the air force base. Currently, Germany has more than 250 military personnel stationed at Incirlik. They have been responsible for operating reconnaissance and refueling flights as part of the international mission against ISIS/Daesh.