Turkiye Not to Allow New Syrian Refugee Influx after Quake

Turkiye will not allow a new influx of refugees from Syria after last week’s devastating earthquake, according to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday.

“Claims that there is a new influx of refugees from Syria to Turkiye (after the earthquake) are not true. We will not allow that; it is out of the question,” Cavusoglu said at a news conference in Ankara.

Cavusoglu was commenting on allegations that Syrians were flocking to Turkiye after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake last Monday that killed more than 37,000 people in the two countries.

He mentioned that humanitarian aid to rebel-held areas in Syria is being delivered through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing and Turkiye is ready to open two new border crossings from Kilis province after the quake.

“All of these border crossings are for humanitarian aid. That does not mean that Syrians are coming to Turkiye through these crossings,” Cavusoglu said.

“We are facilitating humanitarian aid for Syrians, but we are not allowing a new Syrian refugee influx. These are two separate issues,” the minister noted.