Von der Leyen

Turkish military sources have denied claims made by German magazine Der Spiegel that the German government wanted to build a fixed base inside Turkey's ?ncirlik Air Base, saying they only wanted to construct a "guesthouse." 

The spokesperson of Germany’s Defense Minister Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen denied the reports that claimed her request to land on Mytilene as part of her scheduled visit to NATO mission in the Aegean Sea was rejected by Turkey.

As he said, “if the minister wanted to visit the German frigate ‘Bonn’, she would not need to get Turkey’s permission”.

Germany's defense minister has rejected the U.S. call for her country to make more contribution to the military effort in the fight against Islamic State.

Germany is already engaged in a number of military fronts in the fight against extremist groups, including Mali and Afghanistan, said Ursula von der Leyen.

Germany is holding talks with Turkey and Jordan over the deployment of German Tornado reconnaissance jets in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Germany's top soldier has said. 

German DM: European army is "long-term goal"

BERLIN -- The creation of a European army is our long-term goal, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has said.

She mentioned the example of the German-Dutch military cooperation in a joint interview with her Dutch colleague Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert given to the daily Bild am Sonntag.

Sparks also flew within the NATO framework this week as the new Greek government attempts to find its European and international “groove”, with Athens on Thursday angrily responding to the German defence minister’s comment of “Greeece jeopardizing its position in NATO by approaching Russian interests.”