German, Austrian Ministers Break Off Planned Syria Trip Because of Possible Threat

27 March 2025, Jordan, Amman: Nancy Faeser (L), Germany's acting Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs, and Gerhard Karner, Austrian Minister of the Interior, inform the members of their delegations a hotel in Amman that their trip to Syria has been canceled. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
27 March 2025, Jordan, Amman: Nancy Faeser (L), Germany's acting Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs, and Gerhard Karner, Austrian Minister of the Interior, inform the members of their delegations a hotel in Amman that their trip to Syria has been canceled. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
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German, Austrian Ministers Break Off Planned Syria Trip Because of Possible Threat

27 March 2025, Jordan, Amman: Nancy Faeser (L), Germany's acting Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs, and Gerhard Karner, Austrian Minister of the Interior, inform the members of their delegations a hotel in Amman that their trip to Syria has been canceled. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
27 March 2025, Jordan, Amman: Nancy Faeser (L), Germany's acting Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs, and Gerhard Karner, Austrian Minister of the Interior, inform the members of their delegations a hotel in Amman that their trip to Syria has been canceled. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

The German and Austrian interior ministers broke off a planned trip to Syria on Thursday because of a possible threat to their delegation, German authorities said.
Germany's Nancy Faeser had planned to visit Damascus with Austrian counterpart Gerhard Karner, and a German military plane was supposed to fly Faeser's delegation into Syria from Jordan on Thursday morning.
But her ministry said that the trip was broken off before the flight could depart from Amman “because of concrete warnings by German security authorities of a terrorist threat,” German news agency dpa reported. It added that a threat to the delegation couldn't be ruled out, and that it wouldn't have been responsible to travel in view of that possible threat.
The trip hadn't been announced ahead of time. The two ministers had planned to speak with ministers in the interim government and with representatives of UN aid organizations, The Associated Press said.
Germany in particular has been a major destination for Syrian refugees over the past decade.
Last week, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited Damascus and reopened the German Embassy, 13 years after it was shut in the early days of Syria’s civil war.
Baerbock, who met interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and others, said Europe needs “eyes and ears” on the ground as it follows the Syrian political transition. It was her second visit since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in December.



Iraqi and Syrian Leaders Meet in Qatar, Marking a Significant First Encounter

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani meet in Qatar on Thursday. (Iraqi News Agency)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani meet in Qatar on Thursday. (Iraqi News Agency)
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Iraqi and Syrian Leaders Meet in Qatar, Marking a Significant First Encounter

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani meet in Qatar on Thursday. (Iraqi News Agency)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani meet in Qatar on Thursday. (Iraqi News Agency)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met on Thursday in Qatar with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the first encounter between the two leaders, Iraqi and Syrian state news agencies reported.

The meeting was brokered by Qatar, with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani present. It came ahead of Sharaa's expected attendance at the Arab Summit in Baghdad on May 17.

In January, Sharaa was named as interim president and pledged to form an inclusive transitional government that would build up Syria's gutted public institutions and run the country until elections, which he said could take up to five years to hold.

Syria issued a constitutional declaration, designed to serve as the foundation for the interim period led by Sharaa. The declaration kept a central role for Islamic law and guaranteed women's rights and freedom of expression.

During Thursday's meeting, al-Sudani called for the beginning of a comprehensive political process and the protection of social, religious, and national diversity in Syria, especially after an attack on Alawites last month.

The Iraqi prime minister also stressed the importance of the new Syrian government taking serious steps to combat ISIS militants.

He said progress made on these issues could help in building growing relations between Baghdad and Damascus.

Both leaders agreed to respect the sovereignty of the two countries and reject all kinds of foreign interference.