Turkish MFA: German Lawmakers Will Be Granted Permission to Visit Incirlik Only After German Government Distances Itself From Resolution
ANKARA (A.W.)—Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on Aug. 29 that German lawmakers will be granted permission to visit Incirlik air base only after the German government distances itself from a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide
“It depends on the steps taken by Germany. If they take the necessary steps we will enable this visit,” Cavusoglu told a news conference in Ankara, Reuters reported. He also said that those governments that “mingle and manipulate” Turkish history in an “unfair manner” cannot be allowed on a visit to the air base, which is being used by six German surveillance jets and a refueling tanker in the United States-led coalition’s strikes on the Islamic State. According to Reuters, some German lawmakers have threatened to end the mission unless Ankara allows them to visit.
Germany Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier rejected Turkey’s demand when speaking to Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international broadcaster. “I don’t think this has anything to do with the matter and I have told this to my Turkish counterpart,” Steinmeier said, adding that German troops will be withdrawn from Incirlik if Turkish authorities continued denying German lawmakers access to the airbase. “Since the federal parliament affirms the issue of foreign military missions in Incirlik, then it is necessary for the lawmakers to be able to visit the mission,” he said.
When asked whether the German government could distance itself from the resolution, German foreign ministry spokesperson Martin Schaefer said that a resolution of the German Bundestag (Parliament) is “a political declaration of a German constitutional body.”
The German Parliament approved a resolution recognizing the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as genocide on earlier this year. The word “genocide” is used in both the text and headline of the resolution, which also states that Germany bears some guilt for its inaction at the time. Following the vote, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Germany “for consultations.”
The Bundestag vote was nearly unanimous with only one opposed and two abstentions. For over an hour leading up to the historic vote, German parliamentarians spoke in favor of the measure, which affirms the Armenian Genocide and crimes committed against other Christian minorities.
Turkey and her fake allies can distance themselves from the reality of AG, but they will never be able to erase the truth and cover them up under their immediate political needs!