German FM announces withdrawal from Incirlik air base in Turkey

A German withdrawal of several hundred troops from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey is imminent, the country's foreign minister expressed after meetings in Ankara, Rudaw reports.

"I regret that, but please understand that for domestic reasons we will have to move the soldiers," German FM Sigmar Gabriel told reporters on after meeting his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Cavusoglu. "At the moment, the conditions for a visit to Incirlik are not afforded."

Gabriel did not express an alternate plan for the German forces. Earlier this year, the German Defense ministry prepared a report that identified eight possible new suitable sites in Jordan, Kuwait and Cyprus.

"There is no decision, no concrete plan yet," he said.