German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met in Berlin on Monday, March 30, and agreed on a road map for the return of 720,000 Syrian refugees to Syria—that is, 80 percent of the 900,000 refugees presently living in Germany.
As Merz said, a stable Syria is considered vital for the entire region, which is once again being deeply shaken by the war in Iran. A return of several hundred thousand refugees to Syria, however, only makes sense if coupled with substantial economic reconstruction projects—infrastructure, housing, industry, and agriculture. Whether that was discussed between the two leaders is not known.
