Handan Kazancı
11 July 2016•Update: 12 July 2016
ANKARA
Turkey is in the process of giving citizenship to Syrians who have never been involved in any terrorism related activities and who are seen as “useful” to the country, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference following a Cabinet meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara, Kurtulmus said: “Our interior ministry has not yet completed the works on the issue of giving citizenship to Syrians. Our ministry is working on the issue in detail.”
Kurtulmus said work is ongoing to pave the way for Turkish citizenship for Syrians who “can be of use to Turkey, who have never been involved in terrorism, and who can create a bridge between Turkey and Syria.”
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this month that millions of Syrians living in Turkey would have the chance to become citizens of the country that has given them shelter.
Around 2.7 million Syrians, who have fled the civil war in their country, are being sheltered at camps inside Turkey.
Syria has remained locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million have been displaced, according to UN figures.
The conflict in Syria has now driven more than 4 million people – a sixth of the country’s population – to seek sanctuary in neighboring countries, making it the largest refugee crisis in a quarter of a century, according to the UN.
*Anadolu Agency Correspondent Handan Kazanci contributed to this report from Istanbul.
