The Patriot Files Forums  

Go Back   The Patriot Files Forums > International > NATO

Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-17-2017, 02:04 PM
Boats's Avatar
Boats Boats is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sauk Village, IL
Posts: 21,784
Question Germany warns against NATO break with Turkey

Germany warns against NATO break with Turkey
By Agence France-Presse -March 16, 2017
RE: http://www.defencetalk.com/germany-w...-turkey-69502/

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a meeting at the presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015. In a long-feared escalation of tensions between Russia and NATO as well as the Syrian conflict, Turkey on Tuesday shot down a Russian warplane that it claims had crossed into its airspace during a sortie against rebels in Syria. Turkey has vowed to support the Syrian Turkmen and Erdogan on Tuesday criticized Russian actions in the Turkmen regions, saying there were no Islamic State group fighters in the area. (AP Photo/Kayhan Ozer, Presidential Press Service, Pool )

NATO must retain Turkey as a member despite soaring tensions over Ankara’s campaign for a controversial referendum, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.

Beyond Turkey’s strategic importance, von der Leyen warned that rupturing ties could give the democratic Turkish opposition to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the sense the West was leaving it in the lurch.

“Turkey is not making it easy for us within NATO. But no one should believe that a Turkey outside NATO would listen better to us or would be easier to deal with than a Turkey in NATO,” she told AFP.

Von der Leyen, who has served as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s defence chief since 2013, said that NATO provided a platform for the West to “discuss — sometimes heatedly — our convictions about democracy and open society”.

She warned that allowing the current tensions with Ankara to lead to a permanent rupture would have a negative impact on Turkish society.

“We must not abandon the many Turks who don’t want an expansion of the president’s powers with the upcoming referendum,” she said.

Ankara is locked in a dispute with several European countries which have sought to stop Turkish ministers from holding rallies on their soil ahead of the April referendum on expanding Erdogan’s powers, leading the Turkish leader to rail against “Nazi practices”.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Tuesday said Ankara was playing the victim with its broadsides against NATO allies to galvanise support ahead of the referendum.

Amid the tension, Florian Hahn, a politician from Merkel’s Bavarian allies the CSU, called on Berlin to withdraw its troops stationed at Turkey’s Incirlik air base.

Von der Leyen rejected the call, saying the soldiers were not in Incirlik to protect Turkey but as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State group “which is entering a decisive phase in Raqa and Mosul”.

“It would weaken us and would not be a smart decision”.
__________________
Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 10:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.