Türkiye is opening a border gate on the southern frontier with Syria to manage the safe and voluntary return of the millions of Syrian refugees it hosts, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday, after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar Assad.
Speaking at a news conference following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdoğan reaffirmed Ankara was ready to support Syria’s rebuilding in any way it can.
In one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations, opposition forces seized the Syrian capital, Damascus, and Assad fled to Russia following 13 years of civil war and more than 50 years of his family's brutal rule.
"The strong wind of change in Syria will be beneficial for all Syrians, especially the refugees," said Erdoğan
"As Syria gains stability, voluntary returns will increase, and the 13-year longing of the Syrians for their homeland will come to an end."
Türkiye welcomed Syrian refugees with open arms in the early years of the Syrian civil war that broke out in 2011 – becoming host to the largest number of refugees in the world.
Assad's fall has sparked widespread joy among Türkiye’s 3 million Syrian refugees. Hundreds of them gathered at two border crossings in southern Türkiye on Monday, eagerly anticipating their return home.
Turkish officials are yet to say how many Syrians have returned since Assad's downfall.
"In order to prevent any congestion and ease traffic, we're opening the Yayladağı border gate," Erdoğan said, referring to a crossing on the westerly edge of the border that has been closed since 2013.
"We will also manage the processing of immigrants' voluntary returns in a way befitting our hosting," he added.
The government has said Türkiye would work for the Syrian migrants it hosts to return home safely and for the reconstruction of the country.
It said it wanted the new Syrian administration to be inclusive and for Syrians to determine their own future.
"We will continue our efforts to ensure the safe and voluntary return of Syrians and to rebuild the country," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said earlier on Monday.
Fidan said Türkiye would stand with Syrians in this "new era" and was coordinating with all "regional actors and parties."
Shares in Turkish construction and cement companies surged on Monday, buoyed by expectations that they will benefit from rebuilding in Syria.
Erdoğan said Türkiye would not allow new terrorist elements to emerge on its borders.
He added Türkiye had no interest in expanding its reach into Syria, with its cross-border operations only aimed at defending the country from terror attacks.
"Türkiye has no eye on the territory of any other country. The only aim for our cross-border operations is to save our homeland from the terrorist attacks," he said, referring to raids targeting the YPG, the terrorist group PKK’s offshoot based in northeastern Syria.
The PKK is also blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.
Erdoğan said Türkiye would be closely watching both groups and would not allow them to take advantage of the situation in Syria.
"The separatist terrorist organization and its extensions in Syria might be quite excited in order to make use of this situation, and we follow them very closely," he said.