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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U.S. President Donald Trump has informed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa that he intends to remove Syria from the United States' list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move that could pave the way for greater foreign investment and deeper economic engagement with Washington.
Two bombs exploded near a hotel in Damascus where French President Emmanuel Macron had spent the night, but his office said he did not hear the explosions and was on his way to meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the time.
At least five people were killed and 16 injured after a bomb exploded at a busy café in central Damascus on Thursday, according to Syrian state media. Authorities said the device had been planted inside the venue, and no group has claimed responsibility.
Syria is open to direct talks with Hezbollah if its national interests require it, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaybani said during a visit to Lebanon on Thursday (2 July).
The United States carried out a third consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military capabilities around the Strait of Hormuz as Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian shipping and proposed a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strategic waterway.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on all Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be targeted next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations.
The United States and Iran have significantly escalated their conflict, exchanging heavy missile and drone strikes across the Gulf region. Iran claims it has once again closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route.
The death toll from the fire at a live music pub in Bangkok has climbed to 32 after two more victims died from their injuries, according to Thailand's Police Hospital.
Ukraine and Russia exchanged fresh attacks on Tuesday, with Kyiv targeting shipping and energy infrastructure inside Russia while Moscow launched another large-scale missile and drone assault on Ukrainian cities.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a U.S. naval blockade on all Iranian ports and warned that power plants and bridges could be targeted next week unless Tehran returns to negotiations.
Ten EU countries, led by Italy and Poland, have urged the European Union to reconsider a new carbon price on fuel as part of a wider overhaul of the bloc's carbon market, according to a joint statement seen by Reuters.
The European Union (EU) has announced an additional €20 million ($22.8 million) in humanitarian assistance for Venezuela after last month's deadly earthquakes, which killed more than 4,700 people.
India's investigation into last year's Air India crash that killed 260 people has entered its final stages, with investigators completing a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder and carrying out a psychological autopsy as they work towards a final report.
The Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is spreading faster than efforts to contain it, global humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned, calling for an urgent expansion of containment and care measures.
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