Germany will continue searching for an alternative to relocate its troops stationed at Turkey’s Incirlik airbase to neighboring countries, such as Jordan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday.Wow.
BERLIN (Sputnik) – German-Turkish links were tested by the arrest, February 27, of Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish journalist working for Die Welt newspaper.
He was arrested and detained on charges of supporting a terrorist organization and inciting public violence.
The situation worsened when German authorities banned pro-Erdogan demonstrations in Germany in the run-up to the referendum. Germany has a significant Turkish population which Erdogan was keen to ensure voted in favor of the controversial referendum.
Both Germany and Turkey are NATO members, with the alliance making much use of Turkish assets for its Middle East operations — particularly the airbase at Incirlik in southern Turkey.
Didn't see this coming (although I hoped it would). If Germany is making overt moves to find another base then surely the US is doing the same behind closed doors. Turkish leadership seems to have pushed NATO members to make a stark choice.
It's kinda ironic too. I'm just seeing their defense industry find their footing and they're just starting to put out really interesting and innovative products.
This will have bearing on not only defense sales but also sharing of tech. Something weird is already going on with the F-35 (if you remember the Turks were suppose to have the only maintenance barn for the bird but now, if I'm not mistaken, Israel will do there own and the Brits will have one too) and if you see the allies bail out of Incirlik then we'll probably soon see a moratorium on the sharing of advanced military tech with that nation.
This might be worth it for Erdogan but the Turkish people will probably suffer.
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