Turkey should allow Russia’s air force to use Incirlik base, Russian MP says

A senior member of the Russian parliament, Viktor Ozerov, has suggested that Ankara invite the Russian air force to operate from Turkey's Incirlik airbase, which is used by the US-led coalition against ISIS. The base built mostly from US and NATO budgets also holds several dozen US tactical nuclear bombs. Ozerov, a member of the Russian parliament's defense and security committee, was quoted on Tuesday as saying "It is not guaranteed that Russia needs İncirlik, but such a decision could be regarded as Turkey’s real readiness to cooperate with Russia in the fight against terrorism in Syria." He also said "Turkey can provide the Incirlik base to the Russian Aerospace Forces for its use in counterterrorism operations (in Syria). This can become a logical continuation of Turkish President Erdogan’s step toward Russia."
Ozerov's statements came several days after a telephone conversation in which Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to cooperate in carrying out a joint operation against ISIS in Syria. In an exclusive report earlier this week, DEBKAfile reported that a Turkish military delegation has been in Moscow since August 10 to set up a joint war room to coordinate military operations by the two countries.    

 

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