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Erdogan Slams Opposition Over Remarks on Withdrawing from Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his re-election campaign in Adiyaman on Saturday (Turkish Presidency)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his re-election campaign in Adiyaman on Saturday (Turkish Presidency)
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Erdogan Slams Opposition Over Remarks on Withdrawing from Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his re-election campaign in Adiyaman on Saturday (Turkish Presidency)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his re-election campaign in Adiyaman on Saturday (Turkish Presidency)

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."

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Trump Administration Cancels Travel for Refugees Already Cleared to Resettle in the US

An Afghan refugee man, who asked not to use his name and not to show his face fearing his identity could lead to his capture, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP)
An Afghan refugee man, who asked not to use his name and not to show his face fearing his identity could lead to his capture, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP)
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Trump Administration Cancels Travel for Refugees Already Cleared to Resettle in the US

An Afghan refugee man, who asked not to use his name and not to show his face fearing his identity could lead to his capture, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP)
An Afghan refugee man, who asked not to use his name and not to show his face fearing his identity could lead to his capture, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP)

Refugees who had been approved to travel to the United States before a deadline next week suspending America's refugee resettlement program have had their travel plans canceled by the Trump administration.

Thousands of refugees who fled war and persecution and had gone through a sometimes yearslong process to start new lives in America are now stranded at various locations worldwide. That includes more than 1,600 Afghans who assisted America's war effort, as well as relatives of active-duty US military personnel.

President Donald Trump paused the refugee resettlement program this week as part of a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration. His move had left open the possibility that refugees who had been screened to come to the US and had flights booked before the Jan. 27 deadline might be able to get in under the wire.

But in an email dated Tuesday and reviewed by The Associated Press, the US agency overseeing refugee processing and arrivals told staff and stakeholders that "refugee arrivals to the United States have been suspended until further notice."

There are a little more than 10,000 refugees from around the world who had already gone through the lengthy refugee admission process and had travel scheduled over the next few weeks, according to a document obtained by the AP. It was not immediately clear how many of those had been set to arrive by upcoming deadline.

Among those are more than 1,600 Afghans cleared to come to the US as part of the program that the Biden administration set up after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Many veterans of America's longest war have tried for years to help Afghans they worked with, in addition to their families, find refuge in the US. Many were prepared for a suspension of the resettlement program but had hoped for special consideration for the Afghans.

"The Trump administration’s early pause of refugee flights is alarming, leaving thousands of Afghan allies in fear and uncertainty," said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition supporting Afghan resettlement efforts. "We are ready to partner to fix this and urge clear communication with impacted families. Let’s honor our promises and uphold America’s values."

There is a separate path — the special immigrant visa program— specifically for Afghans who worked directly with the US government. VanDiver's group said that program, set up by Congress, did not appear to be affected at this time.

Trump's order signed Monday had given the State Department a week before it began to halt all processing and traveling. It appears the timing was moved up, though it was not immediately clear what prompted the change.

The State Department referred questions to the White House.

Agencies that help refugees settle and adjust to life in America have argued that this is the type of legal immigration that Trump and his supporters say they like and have pointed to the stringent background checks and sometimes yearslong wait that refugees endure before setting foot in America.

"This abrupt halt to refugee admissions is devastating for families who have already endured unimaginable hardship and waited years for the chance to rebuild their lives in safety," Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, head of Global Refuge, one of the 10 US resettlement agencies, said in a statement Wednesday.

"Refugees go through one of the most rigorous vetting processes in the world, and many are now seeing their travel canceled just days, or even hours, before they were set to begin their new lives in the United States," she said. "It’s utterly heartbreaking."

Refugees are distinct from people who come directly to the US-Mexico border with the goal of eventually seeking asylum. Refugees must be living outside of the US to be considered for resettlement and are usually referred to the State Department by the United Nations.

While the resettlement program has historically enjoyed bipartisan support, the first Trump administration also temporarily halted resettlement and then lowered the number of refugees who could enter the country annually.