Alexander Neu, the Left Party representative in the Bundestag Defense Committee, said Wednesday that he would seek security guarantees from the German Foreign Ministry during his visit to a NATO air base in Turkey's Konya province.
On Tuesday, German media reported that Ankara had approved the German lawmakers for a NATO-led visit to the military base in Konya, where German military personnel are stationed. The visit is reportedly slated for September.
"I will ask the Foreign Office to ensure security guarantees," Neu told the DPA news agency.
The lawmaker noted that he was informed by the German Federal Criminal Police Office in spring that he was included on some "Turkish intelligence list," and was, therefore, considering whether to participate in the visit at all.
In mid-July, Turkey banned the Bundestag Defense Committee from conducting a visit to the NATO base in Konya.
German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Turkey's agreement to the upcoming visit by lawmakers to Konya, and lauded NATO for its initiative.
"We've been very patient with Ankara," she told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper.
"Of course Turkey is threatened by a bloody conflict on its borders and terrorism, but that is no reason to throw the rule of law overboard, limit freedom of expression and hold German citizens in jail without any legal basis," she said.
