UPDATE - Turkey: Air base will remain off-limits to German MPs

ADDS COMMENTS FROM GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER

By Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey said on Monday German lawmakers could meet their troops at a NATO facility in Konya but continued to rule out a visit to Incirlik Air Base -- an ongoing source of tension between Berlin and Ankara.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking at a joint news conference with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel in Ankara, said: "Currently, visits are possible to the NATO base in Konya, not Incirlik."

However, Gabriel said the German armed forces were controlled by parliament, and each German lawmaker must have the opportunity to visit troops stationed abroad, according to the constitution.

He said Turkey’s refusal to allow visits to Incirlik was leaving his government without much alternative.

“I regret this, though I ask for your understanding, because of domestic political reasons, we would have to relocate our soldiers,” Gabriel said.

Germany is reportedly planning to relocate its Incirlik troops to a facility in Jordan.

-Unresolved

Despite meetings between Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel last month, the Incirlik issue remains unresolved.

Gabriel’s visit to Ankara does not seem to have resolved the months-long dispute between the two NATO allies. A scheduled meeting between Gabriel and Turkey's premier, Binali Yildirim was cancelled at short notice, according to the Turkish Prime Ministry.

Turkey blocked visits by German lawmakers to their soldiers stationed at Incirlik primarily over the composition of some delegations which included MPs openly supportive of the PKK -- a terrorist organization proscribed by Turkey, the EU and the U.S.

Ankara has also been unhappy about a number of suspects linked to last year’s coup attempt who have claimed asylum in Germany.

Turkey has also been riled by assaults on Turks in Germany by pro-PKK elements, amid claims the German authorities were not taking the issue seriously.

Since 2015, Germany has stationed six Tornado surveillance jets and a tanker aircraft at Incirlik, along with around 260 personnel, providing intelligence and logistics support for anti-Daesh operations.

* Ayhan Simsek contributed to this report from Berlin.