BERLIN, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Federal Parliament (Bundestag) has approved the transfer of the German army (Bundeswehr) troops stationed in Incirlik, Turkey on Wednesday.
The Federal government has already approved and initiated the withdrawal of the Tornado surveillance aircraft troops.
In legal terms, the removal of the troops does not require an alteration of the Bundestag mandate, as it does not specify the location of the military stationing.
However, the Bundestag voted for political reasons, since the controversy is based on Turkey's refusal to grant access to the troops stationed in Incirlik for members of the parliament.
The Bundeswehr is a parliamentary army and, and for this reason, members of the German Bundestag demand free access to the troops at all times.
Around 260 soldiers are stationed in Incirlik, with Tornado surveillance aircraft and one refueling aircraft. From there, the Bundeswehr supports the U.S.-led airstrikes on the forces of the Islamic State.
The troops will be stationed at the Jordanian air base Al-Azrak within the next weeks.
The SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) defense expert Rainer Arnold praised the location in Jordan for its politically reliable environment. "The cooperation with the Jordanian government has been excellent for years," Arnold told the German defense committee on Wednesday.
According to Arnold, the technical infrastructure in Jordan was "quite good," and the troops can be temporarily housed in Belgian and Dutch quarters. "However, a lot of money has to be invested afterwards," the expert added.
