Turkey aims to ensure the safe return of the Syrian refugees it is hosting, said presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, Anadolu Agency reports.
“We have to take care of our border security and make sure the Syrian refugees go back to their homes that they’ve come from, securely and voluntarily,” Kalin said this week in an interview with the Al Jazeera news network.
He also talked about a possible Turkish military operation against the PKK/YPG terrorist organization in northern Syria.
"The actual goal is to establish a safe zone that will serve two purposes: one is to secure Turkey's border with Syria by eliminating terrorist elements such as ISIS [Daesh] and the PKK/PYD/YPG, and the other is to create a space for the refugees to return voluntarily and safely," Kalin said.
Kalin emphasized that the possible Turkish military action does not aim to transform the demographic structure of the region.
"We have no interest in changing the demographics in Syria. It was the PYD/YPG that actually changed the demographics east of the Euphrates by invading these Arab towns and villages, Turkmen towns or Christian towns and villages, forcing people to leave or settle in other places,” he said.