BERLIN (Sputnik) — On May 15, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Berlin would continue searching for an alternative location for its troops that are currently stationed at Incirlik, with options including neighboring countries such as Jordan. The Chancellor's remarks came after a visit by German lawmakers to the country's troops stationed at Incirlik was stalled by the Turkish side the day before it was scheduled to take place.
"I saw last week a military airbase in Jordan… which seems quite acceptable for the deployment [of the Bundeswehr troops]… This is an interesting alternative, but the political decision has not yet been made," von der Leyen told journalists.
In November 2016, German media reported that military officials had traveled to Jordan’s capital Amman to look into the possible relocation of Tornado spy jets away from southern Turkey.
The Turkish Incirlik air base has hundreds of stationed German personnel and several Tornado jets to carry out airstrikes against the Daesh terror group (banned in many countries) in Iraq and Syria alongside the United States and several other NATO member states.
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