President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday boasted about Türkiye’s "policy of compassion" on the Syrian civil war and warned the PKK/YPG terrorist group about its fate in Türkiye's southern neighbor in the aftermath of the collapse of the Baathist regime.

"Things have changed. Separatist murderers will either lay down their arms or will be buried with their arms in the lands of Syria," the president told a parliamentary group meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the capital, Ankara. It was the latest stern warning by Turkish authorities to the terrorist group, which occupies parts of northeastern Türkiye. The PKK/YPG faced a new offensive by the Syrian National Army (SNA) at the same time as operations by anti-regime forces that eventually toppled the Assad regime. Türkiye enjoys good relations with the new administration, which also called on the terrorist group to dissolve.

The PKK/YPG lost Manbij and Tal Rifaat in the SNA's Operation Dawn of Freedom but continues carrying out attacks in Manbij. The group, which carved out a so-called autonomous region in northeastern Syria amid a security vacuum caused by civil war, was propped up both by the United States and the now-defunct Assad regime. The former regime tolerated the separatist entity PKK/YPG established while the U.S. dispatched troops and delivered military aid to the group under the guise of a joint fight against Daesh, another terrorist group. Throughout the civil war, Türkiye advocated the territorial integrity of Syria even under Assad, a stance repeated by Erdoğan on Wednesday.

"Whoever wants to exploit the situation in Syria will have to confront the people of Syria and us. We are determined to crush all terrorist groups, Daesh and PKK in particular, which targets the very existence of Syria," Erdoğan said. Türkiye sought to eradicate the terrorist group that killed thousands since the 1980s through military operations for decades and reduced its clout significantly in the past decade, especially in southeastern Türkiye, where the group exploited the predominantly Kurdish population to draw recruits. Erdoğan's ally Devlet Bahçeli, chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), recently called for the temporary release of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan under the condition that he would call the group to lay down arms.

"We will eradicate the terrorist group which attempted to build walls between us and our Kurdish brothers and sisters," Erdoğan said on Wednesday. "Terrorist groups and their supporters may have an agenda, but we have one, too. By God's will, we will be patient, decisive and attentive and spoil this plot by imperialists," Erdoğan said, underlining the unity of Türkiye, which is home to different ethnic and religious groups.

"We have a common past and a common future," Erdoğan stressed.

The president also highlighted that Türkiye was the only NATO ally fighting the "savage network" of the Daesh terrorist group. "No one can lecture us on this matter," Erdoğan said, in an apparent criticism of the U.S., which staunchly defends its partnership with the PKK/YPG against Daesh.

"Daesh is not a threat only for Western countries. It is also a threat for us, for Syria, for Iraq. Our sole goal is ensuring peace and stability all around our region, starting from Syria. We cannot afford to have instability and insecurity in Syria with which we share a border of 910 kilometers (565 miles)," Erdoğan said.

Support for Syria

The revolution in Syria dominated Erdoğan's speech. The president recited verses from the "Conquest" surah of the Muslim holy book Quran at the beginning of the speech and sent greetings to "our Syrian brothers and sisters who won a magnificent victory after 13 years of struggle."

"We have led a policy of compassion since the Syrian crisis broke out. We promised to stand by the downtrodden, and we have," Erdoğan said.

"I thank Allah for allowing us to witness this glorious victory along with the oppressed Syrians," Erdoğan said. The president lamented that Assad and his Baathist regime opted for a bloody suppression of peaceful protests despite Türkiye's advice otherwise. Erdoğan, who described the toppled leader as a "coward who sold out even those closest to him as he fled," said Assad continued oppressing people while he had the opportunity to end the conflict. "More than 13 years of massacres and attacks drove Syria to chaos and instability. Cities and villages were bombed. One million people were killed either by the regime or terrorist groups like Daesh and the PKK," Erdoğan said.

"Crowning 13 years of struggle with a victory in 12 days is an amazing achievement. Syrian people are now on a path where they can determine their own fate. We are happy for them," Erdoğan said. He also expressed Türkiye's pride to see its flag waving next to the new flag of free Syria in Aleppo, Damascus, Hama, Homs, Deraa and Manbij.

"We are truly pleased with seeing the sun of freedom rising above Syria after 61 years of the Baathist darkness," the president stated.

Syria is now planning recovery and reconstruction efforts as the lengthy conflict razed entire villages to the ground in some places and rendered parts of major cities uninhabitable due to the massive destruction of residential buildings. Erdoğan noted that the total cost of the war for Syria was nearly $500 billion.

"Without the support of the international community, war-weary Syrians cannot shoulder this burden alone. The Arab and Islamic world should lead rebuilding efforts and set an example for other countries," Erdoğan said.

He vowed Türkiye would utilize its full capacity to help its Syrian brothers and sisters. He noted that he sent the chief of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the foreign minister to Damascus for those efforts after the fall of the Assad regime and said they reopened the Turkish Embassy in the Syrian capital. He said they would soon open a consulate in Aleppo.

Erdoğan also praised Ahmed al-Sharaa, the de facto leader of Syria who led the revolution. "We see Mr. al-Sharaa managed the process very well and is appreciated for his moderate, constructive messages," he said.

On the return of Syrian refugees, Erdoğan said more brothers and sisters longing for their homeland would return as soon as Syria recovers. "We facilitate the temporary and permanent return of Syrian refugees. We will also allow them for round trips to Türkiye for a limited time," Erdoğan said. The president noted that they expected more people to return once the schools were closed in the summer.

More than 25,000 Syrian nationals returned to their country between Dec. 9 and Dec. 23, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday, a record number compared to the average of 11,000 returns monthly. The number skyrocketed after the Syrian revolution. Türkiye has been home to more than 3 million Syrian refugees since the war began more than a decade ago and pursued an open-door policy for the displaced from its southern neighbor. It now seeks to ensure the voluntary and safe return of refugees as the new administration takes the reins in the country.

A vast majority of Syrian refugees in Türkiye are optimistic about Syria’s future following the ouster of Assad, and a significant number of them are eager to return to their homeland, according to a recent survey. The survey from Istanbul-based Areda, conducted with 1,100 Syrians across Türkiye on Dec. 9-11, showed 91% of Syrians are happy with the end of Assad’s regime and 71.5% are hopeful about their country’s future. The study showed that 45.5% of Syrians are willing to return home if the situation in Syria improves, while 26.7% are eager to go back "as soon as possible."

Yerlikaya said Türkiye had more than 2.9 million Syrian nationals under temporary protection status granted to refugees and cities in the south, near the Turkish-Syrian border, hosted the majority of them. He said Kilis had the most Syrian nationals compared to its population and refugees made up 29% of the population in the province.

Yerlikaya told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Tuesday this number was only 3% in Istanbul, the country’s most populated city with a diverse migrant population. In terms of refugees’ proportion to the local population, Yerlikaya stated that Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa, two border cities, followed Kilis with 409,000 and 244,000 refugees, respectively. The minister said 61% of Syrians in Türkiye hailed from Aleppo, one of the first cities liberated from the Baathist regime during the revolution. He added that some 875,000 children were born to Syrian families during their stay in Türkiye and more than 819,000 Syrian children attended Turkish schools.

Türkiye prioritized the safe, voluntary and dignified returns of Syrians, a policy adopted long before the fall of the Assad regime. Yet, in the past, refugees had fewer motives to return and mostly to areas liberated from terrorist groups in Syria’s north. Yerlikaya noted that more than 763,000 people returned to Syria from Türkiye since 2017. Authorities increased the capacity of customs at border crossings with Syria amid overwhelming demands. Refugees are first processed at migration authority offices on the border before their departure.

"We will help those seeking to return, but we will never force anyone to return," Erdoğan said. He noted that they would not close the door for Syrians who "wanted to contribute economic, academic, scientific and commercial life in Türkiye."

Deaths and racism

Erdoğan also screened a video that chronicled the civil war and its impact and reminded how millions fled to Türkiye and those seeking to build better lives died en route to Europe, referring to migrants who perished when their boats sank in the Aegean Sea en route from Türkiye to Greece and those "left for dead," referring to Greece's controversial policy of pushing back migrant boats.

"How can you forget baby Alan, that photo?" he said, referring to a 3-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed ashore in Türkiye in 2015 after a dinghy carrying him and his family sank in the Aegean Sea. The tragedy brought the drama of Syrians risking death to reach Europe. The president also reminded the tragedy of children, women and the elderly killed by chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhun and Eastern and Western Ghouta by the Assad regime.

The president said they would also "not forget the racist hatred the opposition exhibited against Syrian refugees." The influx of refugees paved the way for the fledgling Victory Party (ZP) to carve out a niche in Turkish politics as a genuinely far-right party while the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) sought to tap into anti-refugee sentiment with its presidential candidate promising to deport Syrians during his election campaign against Erdoğan in 2023.