Syrian refugees living in Turkey could eventually be granted Turkish citizenship, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signals, a plan that could spark controversy at home.
“I want to announce some good news,” media quotes Erdogan as saying late Saturday at a dinner to break the Ramadan fast in Kilis province, on the Syrian border.
“We are going to help our Syrian friends in offering them the chance, if they want it, to acquire Turkish nationality.”
The interior ministry will shortly announce how the naturalization procedure would work, Erdogan says, without giving further details.
“We regard you as our brothers and sisters — you are not far from your homeland, but only from your homes and your land,” Erdogan tells a group of Syrian refugees in Kilis.
“Turkey is also your homeland.”
— AFP
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