Erdogan: The return of Syrian refugees to their homes will be voluntary, safe

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed that his country will not throw Syrian refugees into the arms of “murderers”, as long as he is in power, Reuters reports.

Commenting on the statements of the head of the Turkish opposition Republican People’s Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, regarding his intention to deport Syrian refugees to Syria in the event of his ascension to power, Erdogan said: “As long as we are in power in this country, we will not throw the servants of God, who took refuge in us, into the arms of the killers.”

“The return of Syrian refugees to their homes will be voluntary and safe.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel today praised Turkey for hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees as part of an agreement with the European Union and said she wanted close relations with Ankara.

Turkey has been hosting the largest number of refugees in the world with around 3.6 million Syrians that fled the civil war in the country.

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