BERLIN: Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is expected in Berlin on Tuesday for talks, as German officials seek to step up deportations of Syrians, despite unease about continued instability in their homeland.

Sharaa is scheduled to meet his counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president’s office said.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s office has yet to announce whether he would also hold talks with Sharaa during the visit.

Since ousting Syria’s longtime leader Bashar Assad in late 2024, Sharaa has made frequent overseas trips as the former Islamist rebel chief undergoes a rapid reinvention.

He has made official visits to the United States and France, and a series of international sanctions on Syria have been lifted.