Germany: Turkey blocks lawmakers’ visit to NATO airbase

BERLIN – A German lawmaker says Turkey is blocking a planned visit next week by parliamentarians to German soldiers stationed at a NATO airbase.

Wolfgang Hellmich, the chairman of parliament’s defence committee, told news agency dpa Friday that the German Foreign Ministry informed lawmakers that Ankara had asked for a delay in the visit, citing the state of the two countries’ bilateral relations.

The visit by lawmakers to the base in Konya was planned for Monday. NATO AWACS surveillance planes are based there, and part of their crew is German.

Germany decided in June to move reconnaissance and refuelling aircraft stationed at Turkey’s Incirlik base, helping the international campaign against the Islamic State group, to Jordan after Ankara refused to let lawmakers visit German air crews there.