Merz: 800,000 Syrians should return

TT

Published 18.51

          

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa during the former's visit to Berlin on Monday. Photo: Kay Nietfeld /AP/TT

The absolute majority of all Syrians in Germany should return within the coming years.

That was the message from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz when he received Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Berlin.

More than a million people from Syria live in Germany - most of whom arrived during the refugee wave of 2015-2016 - making them the largest Syrian diaspora group in the EU.

After the meeting, Merz told reporters that he hopes 80 percent of all Syrians in Germany will return “within the next three years.”

Al-Sharaa’s visit to Germany, his first since the overthrow of dictator Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, has been met with criticism from groups who point to his past role as a leading jihadist and the violence against minorities that has occasionally flared since he took power.