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German minister sees progress on lawmaker visits to Turkey air base


People reflect on a floor with an airplane symbol at the air base in Incirlik, Turkey, January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz/Pool

Germany and Turkey have made progress in resolving a dispute over Turkey’s refusal to allow German lawmakers to visit 250 troops stationed at Incirlik Air Base, European Affairs Minister Michael Roth told broadcaster Suedwestrundfunk on Monday.

BERLIN Germany and Turkey have made progress in resolving a dispute over Turkey’s refusal to allow German lawmakers to visit 250 troops stationed at Incirlik Air Base, European Affairs Minister Michael Roth told broadcaster Suedwestrundfunk on Monday.

Roth, who just returned to Germany from a visit to Ankara, said he saw “great movement” on the issue, and hoped it could be resolved soon.

Turkey, angered by a resolution passed by the German parliament in June that branded the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces as a “genocide”, has denied German lawmakers access to the base. Six German surveillance jets and a refueling tanker are using the base to support the U.S.-led coalition’s strikes on Islamic State.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal)

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