The new Syrian authorities intend to maintain strategic relations with their neighbor Turkey. The leader of the armed groups that came to power in Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who is known by the nickname Abu Muhammad al-Julani, told the newspaper Yeni Şafak.
"We will have strategic relations with Turkey. Turkey has many priorities regarding the creation of a new Syrian state. We believe that Turkey will transfer its experience of economic development to Syria," he said.
Al-Sharaa expressed hope that half of the Syrians who fled since 2011 will return to their homeland. "Syrians found refuge in many countries, but Turkey accepted them the most, treated them with more respect than others," he added.
According to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkey, there may be 2.9 million Syrian refugees in the territory of the republic. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to ensure the return of nearly 1 million refugees to Syria. After the overthrow of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria, Syrians started returning to their homeland from Turkey.
