Turkey will continue to look after "our Syrian brothers," who have fled war and sought refuge in the country, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Monday.
"Syrians can return to their homeland whenever they want, but we will never force them out of these lands," Erdogan told an event to mark the 32nd anniversary of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MÜSIAD) in Istanbul.
"Our door is open to them, we will continue to host them. We will not throw them into the hands and laps of murderers."
The future of nearly 5 million migrants, mostly Syrians, in Turkey has sparked heated debates in Turkish politics in recent weeks.
Erdoğan last month stressed that migrants and refugees in Turkey will voluntarily return to their countries once peace is established.
On the other hand, several opposition parties regularly call for Syrian refugees to return to their home country.
Turkish officials in mid-April banned Syrian refugees from temporarily visiting Syria to see their families for the Eid al-Fitr holiday in early May, which marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The migrants have been briefly visiting their families and relatives in areas liberated from terrorists during the holidays and returned back to Turkey. But this year, a debate emerged as Turkey deals with an influx of migrants from more conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Ukraine and other countries.
200,000 new homes
Turkey recently announced that it is planning a new project to facilitate the voluntary return of 1 million Syrian refugees to their country.
Speaking after a Cabinet meeting later on Monday, Erdoğan said Turkey will build 200,000 homes in northern Syria for some one-fourth of the refugees to resettle voluntarily.
"With financing from international aid groups, we've been working on a project to construct 200,000 homes at 13 different locations in Syria to relocate 1 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey, including schools and hospitals," he noted.
He stressed that there should be no doubt that the number of Syrians will fall to reasonable numbers as long as they are provided the necessary opportunities for voluntary returns.
Saying that all foreigners in Turkey are subject to certain rules on living and working regardless of their countries of origin, Erdoğan stated that those who do not comply with these rules are being deported.
"The number of Syrians deported in this way has exceeded 20,000, and the number of other nationalities is over 21,000," he added.
The main goal of a significant percentage of irregular migrants coming to Turkey is actually to get to Europe, he noted.
Meanwhile, the number of Ukrainians who have sought shelter in Turkey after Russia launched the invasion of its southern neighbor has neared 100,000, noted Erdoğan.
Since Turkey launched its cross-border operations in 2016, Erdoğan said around 500,000 Syrians have returned to safe zones in northern Syria. He underlined that over 57,000 houses for around 50,000 families have so far been built in the Idlib area. In total, there will be 100,000 houses that will contribute to lessening the suffering of "our Syrian brothers and sisters," he added.
It's been more than 10 years since the first group of Syrian refugees, consisting of 250 people, entered Turkey, starting their new lives in the country after fleeing the war and persecution of the Bashar Assad regime. Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Turkey has backed moderate opposition groups against the Assad regime and opened its doors to those who had to flee the country to save their lives.
Now, Turkey hosts more Syrian migrants than any other country in the world. The country also leads humanitarian aid efforts for Syrians in Turkey and opposition-controlled areas of northern Syria, while making large investments for Syrians in Turkey in social cohesion policies to help them integrate into society smoothly.
Most Syrians who fled the civil war and escaped to Turkey are happy in the country and do not want to return home, a recent poll of Syrian refugees in Turkey revealed.