Erdoğan is no longer seeking the ousting of Assad, alarming Syrians across the opposition and Kurdish exiles who fear being forcibly returned
Syrians across the opposition and in the Kurdish north of the country have reacted with alarm to Turkish moves to normalise relations with Damascus amid claims the overtures will lead to mass demographic swaps and the forced return of millions of refugees.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, over the weekend added his voice to a growing chorus of officials who had markedly shifted rhetoric on Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, claiming: “Political dialogue or diplomacy cannot be cut off between states.”
