German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been forced to row back on an ambitious pledge that 80 per cent of Syrians currently living in Germany could return home within three years.
It is a remarkable policy reversal that has played out in little more than 24 hours.
Merz had made the pledge on Monday, during a joint press conference in Berlin with Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“In the longer perspective of the next three years – that is also the wish of President Scharaa – around 80 per cent of the Syrian women and men currently in Germany are to return to their homeland,” Merz told reporters.
The remark immediately drew sharp criticism from within Merz’s own traffic-light coalition.
Members of his coalition partner parties swiftly criticised Merz for endorsing, or at very least strongly aligning himself with, a concrete target for large-scale repatriation.
Social Democrat (SPD) Bundestag member Ralf Stegner told news outlet Handelsblatt that an 80 per cent return rate was “not of this world” given the security situation in Syria.
SPD vice-chair Anke Rehlinger warned floating specific numbers and deadlines risked creating expectations the government could not meet.
Greens MP Luise Amtsberg accused the Chancellor of “unsettling hundreds of thousands of German-Syrians”.
By Tuesday morning, Merz had already begun to distance himself from the remark.
Speaking to the German press agency DPA, he declared: “The figure of 80 per cent returnees within three years was named by the Syrian President. We have taken note of this figure but are aware of the dimension of the task.”
An official statement released by the Federal Press Office subtly rephrased the original Monday quote to emphasise the 80 per cent target had been “the wish of President al-Sharaa”.
Later the same day, however, al-Sharaa himself delivered what appeared a final blow to the new narrative.
Speaking at Chatham House in London, the Syrian leader explicitly contradicted Merz.
Asked how he intended to achieve the 80 per cent returnee goal, al-Sharaa replied: “In fact, the statement is somewhat exaggerated. I did not say that. It was said by others, by the Chancellor.”
NEW – Syria's President clarifies he didn't say 80% of Syrians in Germany would return in 3 years, noting they have "new lives" now and it would be hard "to start their life from zero," but if Western countries invest and start businesses in Syria, he would then "guarantee" 80%… pic.twitter.com/aUt5vTXHRF
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) April 1, 2026
He went on to qualify his position further. While insisting returns must be “voluntary and with dignity” and not simply a matter of putting people on planes, al-Sharaa added under the right conditions he “would guarantee” that 80 per cent of Syrians abroad would return.
Those conditions included major Western investment and the setting up of businesses in Syria so returning refugees – many of whom have built “new lives” in Europe – would not be forced to “start their life from zero”.
With roughly one million Syrians resident in Germany, the 80 per cent figure would have implied the repatriation of some 800,000 people.
Many Syrian refugees have, however, received German citizenship over the years.
