Germany finds eight alternatives to Incirlik base in Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net - The German government has eyed eight locations as alternatives to the military base its troops currently use in Incirlik, Turkey, according to a report published in the daily Die Welt on Wednesday, March 29.

Potential options include three sites each in Kuwait and Jordan, and two in Cyprus, namely Akrotiri and Pahpos, Deutsche Welle said.

"The review of alternative sites to the Turkish aircraft base Incirlik found that, from a military perspective, locations in Jordan, Kuwait and Cyprus were available," Die Welt quoted the government as saying in a report.

Critics have accused the German government of failing to relocate the Bundeswehr's base of operations in Turkey. The facility in Incirlik hosts aircraft used for combating the Islamic State group.

News of the German government's review of sites came in response to an inquiry made by the Left Party, as well as four politicians from the parliamentary group representing Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union.

The alternative locations had been visited "within the framework of a military exploration for the purpose of reviewing their fundamental suitability," the government said in its reponse to the inquiry.

However, the government also stated that "no conversations with respect to a possible stationing" had been undertaken.

Politicians in the Left reacted strongly to the revelation, criticizing the government for not doing more to move Bundeswehr troops amid souring ties between Germany and Turkey.