Sharaa to meet with German chancellor as Berlin seeks to deport Syrian refugees |
BERLIN, Germany — Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will hold talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Tuesday, as Germany seeks to step up deportations of Syrians, despite unease about continued instability in their homeland.
On his first visit to Germany since ousting Syria’s longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, Sharaa is also set to meet President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The former Islamist rebel chief has undergone a rapid reinvention, making frequent overseas trips — including to the United States and France — and seeing a series of international sanctions on Syria lifted.
The focus of next week’s visit for the German government will be on stepping up repatriations of Syrians, a priority for Merz’s conservative-led coalition since Assad was toppled.
Roughly one million Syrians fled to Germany in recent years, many of them arriving in 2015-16 to escape the civil war.
A German government spokesman said Berlin had an “interest in deepening and finding a new start with the new Syrian government.”
Among topics on the agenda will be “the return of Syrians to their home country,” he........