Assad Rejects Turkey's Plan To Repatriate 3Mln Refugees To Northern Syria

Turkey is unlikely to repatriate 3 million Syrian refugees to northern Syria, but even if it does, this could create an "ethnic conflict," Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Sputnik and Rossiya 24 broadcaster

DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) Turkey is unlikely to repatriate 3 million Syrian refugees to northern Syria, but even if it does, this could create an "ethnic conflict," Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with Sputnik and Rossiya 24 broadcaster.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country hosts over 3.6 million Syrian refugees, suggested in September that 3 million refugees could return to a safe zone in northern Syria.

"Nobody believes that Turkey will repatriate 3 million Syrian refugees to this area; this is a deceptive humanitarian slogan. Even if they wanted to, this is not possible because it would create a conflict between the owners of the land, the cities, the villages, the homes, the farms, and the fields on the one hand, and these newcomers, on the other; those who own these places will never renounce their rights in these areas, so this would create an ethnic conflict," Assad said.

The Syrian president said Turkey's real goal could be to set a new "extremist community" in the area by bringing terrorists and their families there.

"In either case, both [outcomes] are dangerous and aim at destabilizing Syria. Therefore, we certainly reject it," Assad said.