Karner cancels his visit to Syria at the last minute.
In a surprising development, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner had to cancel his planned visit to Syria at the last minute due to a serious security warning from German and Austrian intelligence agencies.
Karner intended to head to Damascus on Thursday accompanied by his German counterpart Nancy Faeser, where talks were scheduled with the Syrian interim government amid tight security measures. The visit was not announced in advance to maintain its confidentiality.
However, according to the German news agency (dpa), the flight was urgently canceled after authorities received a specific warning of a potential terrorist threat targeting the German and Austrian delegation. The Austrian Ministry of the Interior confirmed this development to the "Krone" newspaper, indicating that the risk was deemed unacceptable.
The official statement said: "The two ministers made this decision together. It was not possible to ensure the safety of the delegations and the accompanying security forces, and the threat could potentially involve both the German and Austrian sides."
The visit aimed to open the door for discussions on an agreement to return Syrian refugees to their country after the fall of the Assad regime. As part of this plan, procedures have already begun to withdraw protection from thousands of Syrian asylum seekers. Karner stated that the anticipated deportation program is still being prepared.