Overview
- At a joint press conference in Berlin on Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said about 80% of Syrians in Germany should return to Syria within three years.
- Germany and Syria outlined an ambitious joint program on reconstruction and refugee returns that officials said is now moving into implementation.
- President Ahmed al-Sharaa promoted a circular migration plan that lets skilled Syrians work on rebuilding without giving up lives built in Germany, and he did not endorse the 80% figure.
- Rights groups and Kurdish organizations protested the visit, citing Sharaa’s past and ongoing security risks in Syria, while Germany has so far completed only a handful of deportations of convicted criminals.
- Following Monday’s talks in Berlin, Sharaa met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Tuesday to pursue restored ties and investment, with export finance for British firms reported as under discussion.