In the second attempt – Minister Karner with the German colleague in Syria

On March 27, an Austrian minister should have arrived Syrian land for the first time in 15 years. After the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, the country broke out in the civil war, even with refugees who could return to their home country. But the delicate mission – also planned with the German Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser – burst into the last minute.

“Concrete warnings for terrorist threats” in March
The then declaration of the Austrian Ministry of the Interior: “Due to the concrete warnings of the German and Austrian security authorities for a terrorist threat, Minister of the Interior and the German Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser have a planned work trip to the Syrian Capital Damascus for departure.”

Meeting with UN representatives, Ministers of the Interior and Foreign Affairs
The trip was planned under high safety measures and was not announced in advance. In Damascus, discussions by Karner and Faeser with representatives of the UN, the UN refugee agency UNHCR, from UNICEF and the World Food Program, had initially had to take place. Subsequently, discussions with the Minister of the Interior of the Syrian transitional government were planned.

After the fall of the Assad regime, Austria exposed all the asylum applications of Syrians, thousands of disclosure procedures initiated and advertise for voluntary returns: “At the same time, an orderly return and deportation program is in preparation in the Ministry of the Interior,” Karner said about the “Krone” on the site in March.