(AFP) Sweden’s migration minister said Thursday that the country would cooperate with Damascus to increase deportations of Syrians convicted of crimes in Sweden, saying it was a condition for some aid.
“These are Syrian nationals who are in Sweden, who have committed offences here, and who must be deported, but whose deportation has sometimes been very difficult to execute for various reasons,” Johan Forssell told public broadcaster Sveriges Radio.
Forssell and Minister for International Development Cooperation Benjamin Dousa travelled to Syria this week to meet with Islamist interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa — the first visit by Swedish ministers to the country since 2011.
After a large influx of refugees into Sweden in 2015, many of whom were from Syria, successive left- and right-wing governments have tightened asylum and migration rules.
