Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the opposition for saying it would withdraw Turkish forces from Syria if they won the elections.
Speaking at an electoral event in Istanbul, Erdogan said that the opposition wants to withdraw from the security corridors that Türkiye set up to protect its borders from terrorist organizations.
Erdogan failed to secure outright majority in the presidential race in the first round and will face the leader of the main opposition CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, in the runoff vote.
Kilicdaroglu announced restoring relations with Syria if he came to power, and pledged to send back millions of Syrian refugees to their homeland within two years. He also made remarks on the presence of Turkish forces in Syria, Libya, and other regions.
Erdogan responded to Assad's demands for a Turkish withdrawal from northern Syria and normalization of ties with Türkiye, by saying "there are no obstacles to meeting Bashar Assad if the Syrian president succeeds in combating terrorist organizations on Türkiye's borders," referring to the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG), which are the largest components of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
In the past years, Türkiye has carried out military incursions against the Kurdish units with the support of the Syrian National Army (SNA).
Erdogan added in an interview with CNN on Friday that he had a good relationship with the Assad family, and the two families used to meet in the past, but certain developments unfolded, which led to the deterioration of the relationship.
"We have more than 900 kilometers of border, and there is a constant terror threat from those borders on our country," he said. "The only reason we have a military presence on the border is the fight against terrorism. That's the sole reason."
"(Through) my friendship with President Putin, we thought we could open a door, specifically in our fight against terrorism in the northern part of Syria, which requires close cooperation and solidarity," he said.
Erdogan has dismissed opposition calls for comprehensive deportation of refugees and said he will "encourage" around a million refugees to return to Syria instead.
He said Türkiye was building infrastructure and homes in Turkish-controlled parts of the war-torn country to facilitate their repatriation.
"Turkish NGOs are building residential units in northern Syria so that refugees here can go back to their homeland. This process has already started," he told CNN.
"We are encouraging one million refugees to go back to their homeland."
