Germany’s foreign minister says Turkey has approved plans for German lawmakers to visit their country’s troops at a Turkish air base, ending a standoff that had strained relations, the Associated Press reports.
Turkey had refused to allow German lawmakers to visit personnel stationed at the Incirlik Air Base since the German Parliament’s June vote to label as genocide the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago.
Germany has troops and aircraft at the base to support the campaign against the Islamic State group.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Thursday that Ankara has now approved a visit. He said that “with this decision by the Turkish government we have moved a step forward.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Turkey’s president Sunday at the Group of 20 summit in China.
