The German chancellor said up to 80% of Syrians could return within three years, citing Damascus—an account now disputed.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s claim that Syria supports large-scale returns of its nationals has been contradicted by the country’s interim president.
The German chancellor stated in Berlin, alongside Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, that around 80% of the Syrians currently living in Germany should return to Syria within three years. It was the central figure in the CDU’s new narrative: migration toughness, Syrian reconstruction ,and the recovery of political control after a decade of crisis.
