A German government spokeswoman confirmed that Syrian President Ahmed Al‑Sharaa has called off his scheduled visit to Berlin this week, according to AFP.
The canceled visit had been due to address Germany’s efforts to accelerate the repatriation of Syrians—a policy priority for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative-led coalition since the overthrow of Assad.
Al‑Sharaa was scheduled to meet German counterpart Frank‑Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.
On Sunday, the Syrian President announced an agreement with Mazloum Abdi, Commander of the Kurdish‑led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), establishing a ceasefire following government advances into Kurdish‑held territories in the north and east of the country.
Moreover, Al-Sharaa said he would hold a landmark meeting with Abdi on Monday to finalize details of the deal.
Refugee Deportations Push
The cancelled trip to Berlin followed Merz’s official invitation to Al-Sharaa for a state visit to discuss the deportation of Syrian refugees with criminal records in Germany.
Merz has recently noted that Syrian citizens must return to their country as long as the war was over and Syria has already begun a new era after the fall of Al-Assad regime.
He added that there was “no longer any reason” for Syrians who fled their country’s brutal 13-year war to seek asylum in Germany.
“For those who refuse to return to their country, we can of course expel them,” he said during a visit to Husum, in northern Germany.
Germany is currently a haven for approximately one million Syrians who left their country during the devastating civil war.
In December, Germany executed its first deportation of a Syrian since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, returning a man convicted of crimes to Damascus.
However, rights groups condemned the step, citing ongoing instability and documented abuses in Syria.
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