- Prior to elections next year, the issue of Syrian refugees has taken centre stage in Turkey’s political discourse.
- Right-wing groups that were once on the fringes have suddenly become more mainstream.
- Turkey has recently sent signals that it is prepared to begin communication with Syria.
Amid worries that they could end up as pawns in Turkey’s shifting political landscape, the destiny of millions of Syrian refugees there hangs in the balance.
Prior to elections next year, the issue of Syrian refugees has taken centre stage in Turkey’s political discourse. calls for their return to a war-torn country Right-wing groups that were once on the fringes have suddenly grown more mainstream as the nation struggles with an economic crisis because of Syria.
Formerly a committed enemy of the Syrian regime, Turkey has recently sent signals that it is prepared to begin communication. That has surprised a lot of Syrian refugees in Turkey, the majority of whom left their country due to violence and fear for their lives if they go back.
“There isn’t a precondition for dialogue [with Syria],” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview last week. “What matters more is the aim and target of that dialogue,” he told Turkish broadcaster Haber Global.
His remarks were a significant change from Ankara’s stance over the previous ten years.
One of the biggest supporters of the Syrian opposition and armed groups fighting to overthrow the Assad regime has been Turkey, which has also militarily involved in the conflict. Along with Syrian opposition groups, the Turkish military is still present inside Syria and across its border with that country.
Just a few days before, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters that Ankara needed to “secure additional steps with Syria” and that “diplomacy can never be severed off” with Damascus. Ankara’s objective, he continued, was not to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
[embedpost slug=”/israeli-attacks-are-reducing-iranian-aerial-supply-to-syria-sources/”]
