German troops will continue to help protect Turkey. Germany’s air defence missiles are part of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) integrated air defence. The mandate of the German troops who are currently making an important contribution to ensuring maritime security in the Mediterranean is also to be extended.
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The mandate for the Active Fence mission is to be extended unchanged until 31 January 2015. The ceiling on German troops will remain at 400. Currently about 310 soldiers are serving in Turkey.
The second mandate relates to the NATO-led Operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean Sea. It provides for the ceiling on German troops to be reduced to 500, and will expire on 31 December 2014. No German soldiers are currently serving here.
The extension of both mandates must still be approved by the German Bundestag.
At the end of 2012 Turkey requested that NATO station Patriot air defence guided missile systems on its soil in order to protect the Turkish people and the national territory. In early November 2013 Turkey requested an extension. The role of German troops is to remain purely defensive.
Turkey is still the NATO member state most seriously threatened by the conflict in Syria. Continuing tension along the Syrian-Turkish border underscores the threat. The Syrian regime has at its disposal ballistic missiles and delivery systems with a range of up to 700 kilometres. Syrian missiles could then target a large percentage of Turkey’s territory. Since Turkey has no ballistic missile defence systems of its own, it is particularly vulnerable to any potential threat from neighbouring Syria.
The German contribution to ensuring security in Turkey is part of the extensive efforts of the German government to contain the regional impacts of the crisis in Syria. This includes the efforts of the German government to find a political solution to the conflict, German moves to support the measures taken by the United Nations/Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons, and Germany’s significant humanitarian and development engagement in Syria itself and in neighbouring countries.
The Bundeswehr troops have the following duties:
In January 2013 Germany, the Netherlands and the United States of America (USA) each deployed two Patriot units including auxiliary personnel in Turkey. Both the Netherlands and the USA intend to continue to station their Patriot systems in Turkey. The Dutch parliament voted on 17 December to extend the pertinent mandate. The government of the USA has also already approved an extension and has informed the Turkish government accordingly.
Operation Active Endeavour was originally launched to help deter and prevent terrorist activity in the Mediterranean. The threat currently posed by terrorist activity at sea is, however, considered to be minimal. In future Germany’s role will thus be limited to participation in the permanent maritime bodies of NATO, AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) flights and sharing information on the situation.
Within the alliance Germany is consistently endeavouring to bring Operation Active Endeavour into line with the actual situation on the ground, also in terms of the mission design. To this end, specific proposals have been submitted to NATO. These would limit the operation to monitoring and surveillance, gaining a first-hand impression of the situation and regional cooperation. The German government is actively canvassing fellow NATO members to have these modifications adopted.