Turkish Opposition Leader Plans to Return Syrian Refugees

Turkish police detain demonstrators in Istanbul on the anniversary of a suicide bombing in Suruc (AFP)
Turkish police detain demonstrators in Istanbul on the anniversary of a suicide bombing in Suruc (AFP)
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Turkish Opposition Leader Plans to Return Syrian Refugees

Turkish police detain demonstrators in Istanbul on the anniversary of a suicide bombing in Suruc (AFP)
Turkish police detain demonstrators in Istanbul on the anniversary of a suicide bombing in Suruc (AFP)

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of Turkey's main opposition, the Republican People's Party, has renewed his intention to return Syrian refugees to their country if he won the presidential elections in June 2023.

Kilicdaroglu announced a four-stage plan over two years to return 99 percent of the Syrian refugees to their country after providing them with all means of safety and stability.

Speaking at a meeting with representatives of community organizations and local leaders in Ankara, the opposition leader said the first stage includes dialogue with the Syrian regime and restoring relations to normal between Ankara and Damascus.

The second step includes ensuring the safety of citizens' lives and property if they return to areas under the regime's control, said Kilicdaroglu, adding that the Turkish and Syrian armies and the UN will provide security.

The third stage will prepare for housing and jobs for the returnees through EU funding to Turkish construction companies, and the fourth stage includes transferring the factories established by Syrian businessmen in Gaziantep to Aleppo.

Kilicdaroglu indicated that the Turkish community is not comfortable with the Syrians, adding that he will create the right conditions for 99 percent of the Syrian refugees to return to their homeland.

The opposition leader made numerous statements about returning the Syrians and bidding farewell to them at the border.

"Don't you worry. We will send our Syrian siblings to their homes with drums and zurnas within two years at the latest," Kilicdaroglu said.

The issue of the displaced Syrian has become the top concern of the Turkish public ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections next year, in light of the deteriorating economic conditions in the country.

Meanwhile, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, will visit Turkey between Jul 25 and 29.

Msuya is expected to meet with Turkish officials, donors, UN agencies, and local and international NGOs involved in cross-border aid. She will engage with affected people and Syrian women's groups to discuss the challenges they face.



Russia Says It Cannot Accept US Proposals on Ukraine ‘In Current Form’

 A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia Says It Cannot Accept US Proposals on Ukraine ‘In Current Form’

 A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia cannot accept US proposals to end the war in Ukraine in their current form because they do not address problems Moscow regards as having caused the conflict, a senior Russian diplomat said, suggesting US-Russia talks on the subject had stalled.

The comments by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov suggest Moscow and Washington have so far been unable to bridge differences which President Vladimir Putin raised more than two weeks ago when he said US proposals needed reworking.

They come as US President Donald Trump appears to be growing increasingly impatient with what he has suggested might be foot-dragging over a wider deal by Moscow.

Trump in recent days has said he is "pissed off" with Putin and has spoken of imposing sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Moscow is blocking a deal.

Ryabkov, a specialist in US-Russia relations, said Moscow was not yet able to move forward with a deal however.

"We take the models and solutions proposed by the Americans very seriously, but we can't accept it all in its current form," Ryabkov was quoted by state media as telling the Russian magazine "International Affairs" in an interview released on Tuesday.

"As far as we can see, there is no place in them today for our main demand, namely to solve the problems related to the root causes of this conflict. It is completely absent, and that must be overcome."

Putin has said he wants Ukraine to drop its ambitions to join NATO, Russia to control the entirety of four Ukrainian regions it has claimed as its own, and the size of the Ukrainian army to be limited. Kyiv says those demands are tantamount to demanding its capitulation.

'VERY COMPLEX'

Asked about Trump's latest remarks about wanting Putin to do a deal on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters earlier on Tuesday that Moscow was "continuing our contacts with the American side".

"The subject is very complex. The substance that we are discussing, related to the Ukrainian settlement, is very complex. This requires a lot of extra effort."

Russia also said on Tuesday it was fully complying with a US-brokered moratorium on attacking Ukraine's energy facilities.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state TV that Defense Minister Andrei Belousov had briefed Putin on alleged Ukrainian violations during a meeting of Russia's Security Council on Tuesday. Russia passed a list of the violations to US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lavrov said.

Before the weekend, Trump had taken a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has unnerved the United States' European allies as he tries to broker an end to the conflict in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

But in recent days, and amid lobbying by Europeans such as Finland's president urging him to hold Russia to account, he has adopted a tougher tone.