MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to Erler, Berlin is very interested in stopping the Syrian civil war, as "it is the reason for this huge influx of refugees."
"As far as Syria is concerned, Germany has found itself in a situation that is very, very difficult to solve. Every day up to 40,000 refugees arrive [in the country]. We have strict rules – we accept refugees arriving from Syria as seekers of political asylum," Gernot Erler said, adding that at least one million refugees were expected to arrive in Germany alone before the year is out.
The Syrian civil war has displaced millions of people, and caused unprecedented numbers of refugees to flee to Europe in pursuit of peace and security. Earlier this month, Germany opened its borders to some 20,000 people.