Ursula von der Leyen

Defense Minister Fikri Işık met his German counterpart Ursula Von Der Leyen on June 29 amid dispute between the two nations over the withdrawal of Germany's military deployment in the İncirlik air base in southern Turkey. 

The two ministers came together on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels. 

The relocation to Jordan of German troops stationed at the İncirlik air base in southern Turkey will start by the end of this month, Germany's defense minister has said.

The chief of NATO has said he is in touch with both Germany and Turkey regarding their latest dispute over visiting rights to a Turkish airbase where German soldiers are stationed. 

Germany's Social Democrats raised pressure on conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel on May 21, saying if she could not resolve a row with Turkey over access to the İncirlik air base, German troops should move.

Merkel's defense minister, tacitly admitting the possibility said she had been looking for other locations and hinted that Jordan could be one.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has said her office has drafted a list of eight locations, among them Cyprus, where it could move aircraft supporting the anti-IS mission if Turkey continues to block German lawmakers from visiting troops at the Incirlik base.

Talks with Turkey are still ongoing, she said.

Germany is free to withdraw its troops stationed at Turkey's İncirlik air base if it wants to, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on May 18, adding Berlin should change its attitude towards Ankara.

Germany’s defense minister says her office has drafted a list of eight locations where it could move aircraft supporting the anti-IS mission if Turkey continues to block German lawmakers from visiting troops at the Incirlik base.

It started with an investigation into a suspected terrorist plot by an army soldier aimed at top government officials. But it quickly uncovered a larger problem.

Germany and the United States over the weekend engaged in a dispute over whether or not Germany "owes vast sums of money to NATO and the United States," as claimed by U.S. President Donald Trump. 

NATO urged Turkey and Austria on March 15 to settle a dispute over Ankara's EU membership bid, which has led Turkey to block cooperation with the alliance's partner countries.

Confirming press reports, a NATO official said: "We regret the current situation and the impact it is having on all of our cooperation programs with partners."