Syrian refugees living in Germany should have the right to visit their country of origin before deciding whether to return, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday.
Speaking at a ceremony for the Green parliamentary group in the northern German city of Hamburg, Baerbock said Syrians should be allowed to see for themselves whether they are able to return to their homeland permanently.
Germany has seen a heated debate over the status of Syrian residents since the fall of long-time Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's regime in December.
Baerbock said she hoped that “even in an election year we will have the opportunity to be very pragmatic” and give a separate travel permit to Syrians “who would want it now”.
“If the goal is to rebuild Syria, of course we have to see what the situation is like there,” she said, adding that no one knows what Syria will look like in the future.
Baerbock was referring to refugees with subgroup protection status, who were allowed to stay in Germany not because of individual persecution but because of the civil war in their own country.
According to asylum law, if people travel to their countries of origin, it is legally assumed that the protection conditions no longer apply and they may lose this status.
The only exceptions to this are if the trip is considered “morally necessary,” for example when attending the funeral of a relative.
Baerbock visited the Syrian capital Damascus last week together with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on behalf of the European Union.
They met with Syria's new de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who heads the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that led the surprise rebel offensive that led to Assad's overthrow.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will speak at the New Year's party at the Hamburg Greens in the town hall. Axel Heimken/dpa
