Germany won't extend AWACS to Afghanistan

Germany will not extend for the time being the deployment of AWACS surveillance aircraft to Afghanistan when the current mandate expires in mid-December, Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Tuesday.

Guttenberg said the reason for the decision was a dispute about overflight rights over Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan from the NATO air base in Turkey.

He said if the dispute is resolved the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft could still be deployed.

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