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The Russian leader said “everything must be done” to help displaced Syrians come home after more than seven years of brutal conflict.

“We must reinforce the humanitarian dimension of the Syrian conflict, and by that I mean boost humanitarian assistance to the Syrian population, and help the regions where refugees living abroad can return to,” Mr Putin said during a weekend meeting with Angela Merkel at the German government’s Meseburg castle outside Berlin.

There are one million Syrian refugees in Jordan, another million in Lebanon and three million in Turkey, Mr Putin said.

At the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, Germany also took in one million refugees from Syria and other conflict zones, a decision that weakened the German Chancellor’s power and shone a harsh spotlight on Europe’s moral and political faultlines.