NATO on Monday appointed Rose Gottemoeller as deputy head of the US-led alliance, the first woman to hold the post, a statement said.

Gottemoeller is a career US diplomat whose nomination to the NATO post in March by President Barack Obama ran into stiff Republican criticism that she was too soft on Russia.

"I am delighted to announce the appointment of Rose Gottemoeller, who will bring to NATO a wealth of experience in international security policy, and in areas such as arms control and relations with Russia," alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.

Stoltenberg said the appointment of the first woman to the deputy post was a "milestone" for NATO.

The Ukraine crisis and Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea have plunged relations into a deep freeze, with NATO responding by launching a major revamp to counter a more assertive Moscow.

Gottemoeller, currently Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, will replace Alexander Vershbow, another career US diplomat, in October.

Turkey allows German minister visit after air base row
Ankara (AFP) June 27, 2016 - Turkey said Monday it would allow Germany's defence minister to visit an air base in the south of the country after sparking a row by barring a German delegation from making the trip.

Ursula von der Leyen had said Sunday she would personally visit the Incirlik base, used to launch coalition raids against Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria, after Turkey blocked other German politicians from going there.

Ankara had said the scheduled July visit by Germany's state secretary for defence Ralf Brauksiepe and other lawmakers would have been "inappropriate", sparking anger from von der Leyen.

German media reported the ban was in retaliation for the German parliament's recognition of the Ottoman forces' killing of Armenians during World War II as a genocide, but Turkish officials did not confirm this publicly.

"I have never experienced anything like this. It goes without saying that the leadership of the defence ministry should be able to visit German soldiers in the field," von der Leyen told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said at a news conference in Ankara on Monday that her own visit could go ahead.

"Turkey will grant permission," he said.

"The German defence minister can visit Incirlik with ease. There is no problem."

Germany in December agreed to send Tornado surveillance jets and tanker aircraft to Incirlik to aid the multinational coalition fighting IS in Syria.

But Berlin angered NATO ally Turkey when its parliament passed a resolution this month calling the Armenian killings a "genocide".