‘Closing İncirlik Base Not on Agenda’, Says Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu

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Holding official talks in the United States (US), Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has answered to the questions of journalists following the meeting with Secretary General of the United States (UN) Antonio Guterres.

Çavuşoğlu said; "Right now, closing the İncirlik Military Base is not on the agenda but if the states which come for ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) will not provide support, there is no need for it to remain".

Previously, Minister of Defence Fikri Işık and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu had criticized that the ISIS coalition did not provide support for the al Bab operation within Operation Euphrates Shield Operation.

"We don't see the air support"

Recalling that within the scope of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces of United States and other allies were deployed in the İncirlik Military Base, Çavuşoğlu in his last statement in the US said that they allowed jets from other countries to support the fight against ISIS.

"Turkey is putting up an important fight against ISIS. But recently, we cannot see any air support by the coalition.

"Now that we have created a coalition to fight against ISIS and Turkey has provided physical facilities, why don't you support? What is the purpose? What is it that you want? Why don't you hit? Is not that a given right of ours? If they are not providing support, why are they using the İncirlik Base?

"Right now, closing the İncirlik Military Base is not on the agenda but if the states which come for ISIS will not provide support, there is no need for it to remain". (AS/DG)

* Photograph: Fatih Aktaş – Ankara / Anadolu Agency