German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has invited Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Germany to discuss the deportation of Syrian criminals. This follows soon after a visit by the foreign minister to Syria and distances itself from his skeptical remarks on refugee returns. Merz emphasizes that the civil war is over and repatriations are now possible.
Shortly after Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's visit to Syria, Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Germany. The purpose: talks on deporting Syrian criminals from Germany. "The civil war in Syria is over. There are no more reasons for asylum in Germany, so we can now begin repatriations," Merz said during a visit to Husum in Schleswig-Holstein.
Merz promised that Germany would contribute to stabilizing Syria. He hoped a large portion of Syrian refugees would return voluntarily, as Syria's reconstruction is impossible without them. Those who refuse "can of course be deported in the near future," the chancellor added.
This stance responds to Wadephul's statements from his Syria trip. The foreign minister highlighted the massive destruction from the civil war and doubted whether many refugees would return voluntarily in the short term. "Here, really hardly any people can live properly with dignity," Wadephul said in the devastated Damascus suburb of Harasta.
According to the Federal Interior Ministry, 951,406 people from Syria lived in Germany in August, of whom 920 were required to leave and had no toleration status.
Nearly a year ago, Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by the Islamist militia HTS led by al-Sharaa. Al-Sharaa, previously regarded as a terrorist, is now transitional president steering Syria toward openness and rapprochement with the West. Syrian state media report he will visit Washington next week.