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"Only doctors should stay", Merz aims to return 80 percent of Syrians to their homeland

2026-03-30 21:43:44 / BOTA ALFA PRESS
"Only doctors should stay", Merz aims to return 80 percent of Syrians

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that most Syrians should return to their homeland, after a controversial meeting with the country's president Ahmed al-Sharaa.

"In the next three years... around 80 percent of Syrians currently living in Germany should return to their country of origin," Merz said at a joint press conference with the Syrian leader in Berlin on Monday.

But certain groups — including doctors and nurses — can stay, according to the chancellor. “The civil war is over and now, in principle, there is a prospect of returning to Syria — and we want to make this possible together,” Merz said.

Millions of Syrians fled the civil war that began in 2011, many of whom arrived in Germany during the 2015-2016 refugee crisis. By the end of 2024, around 1.23 million people of Syrian origin were registered in Germany.

Merz made restricting migration a central campaign issue when he ran for office in 2025 and is now seeking cooperation from Damascus to facilitate the return of Syrians without the legal right to stay in Germany. The chancellor claims the initiative will help create the conditions for economic growth in Syria and support its reconstruction efforts.

However, opponents of the Syrian leader criticize the German government for rolling out the red carpet for al-Sharaa, who was previously known by the pseudonym Abu Mohammad al-Julani. The United States had previously offered a $10 million reward for his capture, until it canceled it in December 2024.

Merz has also warned against escalating the war in Iran into a major regional conflict. Such a conflict could place a “burden on Germany and Europe as heavy as we last experienced during the Covid pandemic or at the beginning of the war in Ukraine,” Merz said on Monday (March 30) during a joint press conference with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Berlin. The war is already affecting everyone, he said. “It has entered our daily lives. For weeks, gasoline prices and energy costs for German households and businesses have been rising.”

In addition, police protection should be increased again outside synagogues and Jewish communities. For the period after the end of the war, Merz proposed the creation of an international contact group to coordinate assistance as effectively as possible. "As soon as the necessary conditions are met, Germany will certainly be ready to make its contribution to ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," the Chancellor declared. Merz added that Germany and Syria shared the assessment that the Iran crisis cannot be resolved by military means alone.

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