German and Austrian ministers break off a planned Syria trip because of a possible threat

BERLIN — 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 her 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 two ministers decided to break off the trip before the flight could depart from Amman “because of concrete warnings by German security authorities of a terrorist threat.”

It added in an emailed statement that a threat to the delegation itself couldn't be ruled out, and that it wouldn't have been responsible to travel in view of that.

The trip hadn't been announced ahead of time. The two ministers had planned to speak with the interior and foreign ministers in the interim Syrian government and with representatives of U.N. agencies.

Germany in particular has been a major destination for Syrian refugees over the past decade.

The German Interior Ministry said Thursday's planned talks were supposed to center on security issues and on “perspectives for the return of Syrian refugees in case of stabilization and peaceful development in Syria.” It noted that Germany and Austria are working on being able to deport Syrians who have committed serious crimes, or are deemed a security threat, as soon as possible to their homeland.

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.