Ankara has begun engaging with Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus to repatriate Syrian refugees in Türkiye to not only safe zones but also to cities controlled by the regime, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Sunday.

"We must send Syrians back to the cities they come from and we have launched talks with the regime and reached a consensus to lay the groundwork for this," Çavuşoğlu said in a televised interview amid rising debate over the presence of some 3.5 million Syrians ahead of the presidential runoff on May 28.

Over half a million Syrians have been sent back to their homeland so far but it’s not enough, the Turkish diplomat noted, adding that the sides were working on a road map to establish the necessary infrastructure.

"We are determined to send (Syrians) back but we need to do it in an honorable way," Çavuşoğlu stressed.

Dismissing increasing rumors that Türkiye’s southeastern borders were "flooded" with asylum-seekers from Syria and Afghanistan, Çavuşoğlu assured all necessary precautions were taken.

Anti-refugee sentiments in Türkiye have been on the rise in recent months, largely stoked by opposition parties that have sought nationalist votes in the runup to May 14’s presidential and parliamentary polls.

Türkiye has hosted millions of Syrians who fled persecution and brutality in their country since the civil war broke out in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Erdoğan’s government has been working to ensure the return of those willing to return to safe zones it established across northern Syria, while the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continue battling terrorists from groups like the PKK, its Syrian branch, the YPG, as well as remnants of Daesh via cross-border operations and backing moderate Syrian opposition against Assad.

Conversely, Ankara and Damascus have intensified steps for normalizing ties since last year. With Russia and Iran’s participation, Çavuşoğlu met his Syrian counterpart in Moscow earlier this month for the highest-level talks between the archfoes since 2011.

Negotiations especially accelerated after the Feb. 6 earthquakes centered in Türkiye's southern region killed over 56,000 people in both countries.

Following the disaster, around 42,000 Syrians also crossed over to their country to check on their relatives and homes, as reported by Turkish officials.

While most Syrians in Türkiye aren’t eligible to vote, their presence and potential return have been a major part of politicians' discourse in election campaigns, with the main opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in particular, harshening his anti-refugee rhetoric after his first round loss and vowing to "stack up and send Syrians packing."

Rampant misinformation and hate speech on social media platforms, especially by opposition supporters, have fueled xenophobia and violence toward Syrian refugees.

For Çavuşoğlu, the matter of their return needs "hard contemplation" for better management.

"You cannot say this through just hate speech or populism," he told Habertürk TV. "Yes, a lot of refugees came to Türkiye from Syria and Afghanistan through Iran. We sent many Afghans back to their country, after the Taliban (came to power) too. We send them on flights and they wanted to go back as well."

Çavuşoğlu argued that the revival of the political process for a solution to the Syrian crisis, clearing Syria of terrorist groups and the safe return of Syrians were all "connected" topics.

"Where there is terrorism, Syrian Kurds in Türkiye don’t want to go back because they suffer under PKK tyranny," Çavuşoğlu noted.

Underlining the need for expediting infrastructural work for the return and ensuring life security, as well as United Nations’ involvement, Çavuşoğlu said, "It also wouldn’t be accurate to claim we will send back all Syrians in the country. Türkiye currently needs laborers in sectors like agriculture, industry and retail."

He dismissed "attempts to provoke people" via various disinformation campaigns on social media that use fake footage to claim migrants are crossing over the Turkish-Iranian border, especially during the pre-election period.

"There’s a wall along our Iranian border and many irregular refugees from Pakistan, Africa or anywhere else who illegally enter Türkiye are sent back," Çavuşoğlu said.