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German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel met with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Ankara on Monday for emergency talks regarding a dispute over the stationing of German troops and aircraft at a Turkish military base in Incirlik.
During the joint press conference, both Turkish and German leaders initially emphasized how important bilateral ties were, stating that they were critical trade partners and cooperated on significant issues such as radicalism and terrorism.
When it comes to the main issues, the two leaders had different views. While Turkey expressed disappointment over Germany granting asylum to some Turkish soldiers accused of participating in the failed coup, the German Foreign Minister stated it was up to independent courts, not to the German government.
It led to the main topic at hand: Turkey reiterated its stand regarding German officials visiting German troops at the Incirlik airbase, saying it was not possible under the circumstances, but said they could visit the Nato base in Konya instead.
"In reverse I asked for your understanding that we, for domestic reasons as well, must transfer German soldiers out of Incirlik. Because the German parliament has a parliamentary army and insists on the fact that German soldiers can be visited by German lawmakers at any time,” German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said.
According to CGTN’s Michal Bardavid, German Chancellor Merkel had already threatened to move German troops to Jordan. The German Foreign Minister was also expected to meet with Turkish Prime Minister, but that meeting was later cancelled.
(CGTN)
