Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Germany plans to deport Syrian citizens with criminal records and has invited Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Berlin for talks on the issue.
"We will, of course, continue to deport criminals to Syria. That is the plan. We will now implement this in a very concrete manner," Merz told reporters.
He added that Germany also wants to contribute to Syria’s stability and intends to discuss with al-Sharaa "how we can solve this together".
Merz’s stance marks a sharp departure from the policy of his predecessor, Angela Merkel, whose government adopted an open-door approach a decade ago, allowing around one million refugees, many of them Syrians, to enter Germany during the conflict.
Since then, the rise of the far right has pushed Merz’s conservative CDU party to take a tougher position on migration and border security, with an emphasis on speeding up deportations.
"I will say it again: the civil war in Syria is over. There are now no longer any grounds for asylum in Germany," Merz said.
President al-Sharaa, who took power from Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, has embarked on several diplomatic visits aimed at restoring Syria’s international relations after years of isolation. He is expected to visit Washington in early November.
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Amid fragile calm, António Guterres urged constructive U.S.- Iran talks, while Pope Leo XIV warned violence is spreading. Lebanon's Pres...
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei has declared a “decisive victory” over the U.S. and Israel, signalling a &...
A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana, is suing him for libel at the High Court in London, according to...
Uzbekistan is advancing plans to reduce the state’s role in the economy while introducing a VAT refund system for foreign visitors, as part o...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus in a visit that underscores Kyiv’s push to strengthen military ties across the Middle East and promote its military expertise following the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
Explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus as Israeli air defences intercepted Iranian missiles, Syrian state television reported on Tuesday.
A man previously convicted of spying on Türkiye has been arrested by Turkish and Syrian authorities after more than a decade on the run, Turkish security sources said on Monday.
Türkiye’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ahmet Yildiz, has called for Syria to be shielded from the effects of the ongoing regional war, warning that instability could threaten the country’s recovery.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has given an instruction for Israel to begin peace talks with Lebanon that would also include the disarming of Hezbollah.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to continue dialogue and avoid steps that could worsen tensions after China-hosted talks in Urumqi, with Kabul and Beijing saying the meetings focused on easing differences and improving relations.
Amid fragile calm, António Guterres urged constructive U.S.- Iran talks, while Pope Leo XIV warned violence is spreading. Lebanon's President said an Israeli strike killed 13 security personnel in Nabatieh.
Memorial events were held in Tehran’s main squares on Wednesday (8 April) to mark the 40th day since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died during U.S.-Israeli attacks on 28 February.
North Korea has tested a new cluster-bomb warhead mounted on a tactical ballistic missile, alongside advanced electromagnetic and infrastructure-targeting weapons, in a significant escalation of its military capabilities.
A charity co-founded by Prince Harry in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana, is suing him for libel at the High Court in London, according to a court record published on Friday (10 April).
The European Union and Washington are nearing an agreement to coordinate the production and security of critical minerals, Bloomberg News reported on Friday (10 April).
In a forceful rebuke to Washington’s foreign policy in the Americas, a senior Russian diplomat has declared that Moscow will never abandon Cuba, pledging ongoing support to help the Communist-run island overcome a severe energy crisis linked to the United States embargo.
Hungary votes on Sunday in a parliamentary election that could loosen Viktor Orbán’s 16-year hold on power. His ruling Fidesz faces a strong challenge from Péter Magyar’s Tisza party, which has led some polls, though many voters remain undecided.
While a fragile ceasefire in the Iran war may deliver badly needed relief to economies battered by the world’s worst-ever energy crisis, hopes it will quickly restore normal oil and gas flows from the Middle East are almost certainly misplaced.
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