Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament on Wednesday approved the government’s decision to withdraw German troops from the Turkish airbase Incirlik, Sputnik reported.
A total of 461 of 569 Bundestag members voted in favour of the decision.
In early May, Turkey blocked a group of German lawmakers from visiting servicemen stationed at Incirlik which was used by Germany to carry out reconnaissance flights as part of the international operation against Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia) terrorist organisation. Mustafa Yeneroglu, a Turkish lawmaker representing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), told Sputnik that the decision to ban German lawmakers from entering the base was made due to the threat posed by politicians who supported the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group listed as a terrorist organisation in Turkey.
On June 7, the German government backed the relocation of German troops from the İncirlk base.
Earlier this week, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Germany would begin the relocation of its military aeroplanes and equipment to airfield Azraq in northern Jordan in July.
