Germany to send troops to Turkey under NATO flag
Germany says it is set to deploy troops to Turkey aboard aircraft operated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in support of Ankara, a member state, amid the crisis in Syria.
In a letter to the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, the German Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense said NATO’s Airborne Early Warning and Control planes would temporarily be moved to the Turkish city of Konya, the German Sunday newspaper, Bild am Sonntag, reported.
“A temporary relocation of Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft is planned from the [the German] Geilenkirchen base to the Konya airbase in Turkey,” the letter read.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Germany’s Ministry of Defense, whose name was not mentioned in reports, said, “Since Germany provides 30 percent of all personnel, our armed forces will clearly also be affected by the move.”
However, it was not specified how many German soldiers might be sent to Turkey, which has been among the major supporters of Takfiri terror groups in Syria since the outbreak of violence in the neighboring state in March 2011.
In another development on Saturday, NATO announced that it would be deploying Patriot missiles in Turkey over the coming weeks to defend its member state against any alleged threats from Syria.
The developments came more than one week after NATO agreed to send aircraft and ships to Turkey to strengthen Ankara’s air defenses along the border with Syria following Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian soil.
On November 24, Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24M Fencer with two pilots aboard, claiming the fighter jet had violated the Turkish airspace. One of the pilots lost his life in the incident and the other was rescued in a Syrian army operation.
Moscow has dismissed Ankara’s claims, saying the plane was brought down in Syria’s airspace, where Russia has been conducting operations against Takfiri terrorists since September 30 upon a request by the Damascus government.
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