ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended his plan to give Syrian refugees Turkish citizenship in comments published on Monday, arguing the country has ample space after a backlash against the suggestion.
Erdogan said on July 2 that Syrians could eventually be granted Turkish citizenship "if they want it", in remarks which were met with anger from opposition politicians and social media users. More than 2.7 million Syrian refugees **w live in Turkey, where they have guest status, according to the Turkish government.
In his first comments on the issue since an**uncing the plan, Erdogan said Syrians with dual citizenship did **t have to return to Syria once the conflict was over.
"Is it a must for dual citizens, for people with citizenship, to return to their countries of birth?" he told Turkish reporters on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Warsaw, quoted by the Hurriyet daily.
07-12-2016, 05:55 AM
Erdogan defends plan offering Syrians citizenship
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