Bavarian PM Turns to Putin for Help on Syria After Threats to Sue Merkel

In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Seehofer announced his willingness to establish a closer dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to resolve the conflict in Syria.

"Bayern will soon again intensify contacts with Moscow," Seehofer said, adding that the Syrian crisis can’t be resolved without Russia.

The politician also stressed said he does not consider any possibility of German military involvement in the conflict in Syria.

"I don’t see any military option for us," he said, cited by the newspaper.

On September 30, Russia started military operations in the country following an official request of the Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad. Since then, Russia has been carrying out precision airstrikes on ISIL targets in Syria and destroyed a number of important strategic facilities of the terrorist organization.

On Friday, authorities in the southern German state of Bavaria had threatened to take the federal government to the constitutional court if it did not act to curb the record inflow of refugees from North Africa and Middle East.

Bavaria’s Prime Minister Horst Seehofer and Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann were both cited as saying after an urgent cabinet meeting on Friday that the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel was not doing enough to address the crisis on the southern German border.

According to Bavarian authorities, some 225,000 refugees arrived in Bavaria between September 1 and October 3.