Refugees in Turkey

Workers walk past the gas turbine and heat recovery system of Syria's largest power plant on June 12, 2025 in Deir Ali, Syria.

Turkey to begin natural gas exports to Syria on Aug. 2: What to know

Turkey will supply gas via a swap deal with Azerbaijan, backed by Qatar financing, the Turkish energy minister said.

Turkish soldiers patrol near the border wall between Turkey and Iran in the Van Province, eastern Turkey, on Nov. 1, 2024.

Turkey ramps up Iran border security as Ankara, UNHCR monitor refugee risks

UNHCR stands ready to support Turkey, though no major refugee movement has been observed along the Iranian border, the international body’s Turkey spokesperson told Al-Monitor.

Syrians living in Turkey carry their belongings towards the Cilvegozu border gate to cross into Syria after after Syrian rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 13, 2024 in Cilvegozu, Turkey.

Analysis

As Turkey eases ban, Syrian refugees can now visit before deciding to return

Turkey is allowing one adult per Syrian family to return after visiting their homeland, but experts warn that easing restrictions may not lead to significant refugee returns amid ongoing uncertainties in Syria.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

A Syrian refugee gestures as she speaks with Turkish soldiers at Cilvegozu crossborder gate before entering in Syria at Reyhanli district in Hatay, on December 9, 2024. Islamist-led rebels declared on December 8, 2024, that they have taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

'Immense joy and disbelief': Syrians in Turkey want to return, but uncertainty prevails

While celebrating President Bashar al-Assad's fall, many Syrians in Turkey remain cautious about returning until more stability and security are assured.

A correspondent in Turkey

By A correspondent in Turkey

Latest News

With Assad gone, Turkey urges Syrian opposition to unite, warns against PKK

Turkey's Foreign Affairs Minister, Hakan Fidan delivers a press conferense after his meeting with his Greek counterpart in Athens, on November 8, 2024. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Syrians in Turkey change attire, avoid cars after mob attacks

Syrians attend the burial of a man killed during clashes with Turkish troops, in Afrin in northern Syria on July 2, 2024.

Erdogan open to hosting Assad, Putin as Syria-Turkey channels widen

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during their meeting in Sochi on May 17, 2018.

Erdogan reassures Syrian rebels but says Turkey open to talks with Assad

Armed men drive in the back of a pick up truck during protests against Turkey in al-Bab, in the northern Syrian opposition held region of Aleppo on July 1, 2024. A man was killed after and Turkish forces clashed in Syria's Ankara-controlled northwest, a war monitor said, in demonstrations sparked by violence against Syrians in Turkey a day earlier. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP) (Photo by BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images)

An aerial picture shows Syrian refugees living in Turkey waiting to take a bus through the northern Bab al-Hawa border crossing, on February 17, 2023, as they return to Syria in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. - Turkey this week allowed Syrians under its protection who hold ID cards from one of the quake-hit provinces to leave for between three and six months, a rule change designed to reunite families on both sides of the border hit by the February 6 disaster, which has killed more than 41,000 people

60,000 Syrians have left Turkey, Turkish defense chief says

Syrian refugees in Turkey remain a central theme ahead of the country's critical May 14 elections.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Syria, Iran to hold 'technical talks' in Russia next week

The technical meeting is aimed at achieving progress in the stalled high-level dialogue process between Ankara and Damascus.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian pose.

Iran's top diplomat to visit Turkey in post-disaster diplomacy

The top Iranian and Turkish diplomats are also expected to discuss the Syrian, Nagorno-Karabakh and bilateral files during their meeting.

Turkey quake refugee

A Syrian exodus: Some 30,000 refugees return home after Turkey's earthquake

The UN's refugee agency stresses that Syrian refugees who visit their homeland can return to Turkey later.

Turkey earthquake

Analysis

Will Turkey-Syria earthquake redraw the fault lines of geopolitics?

As in previous decades and centuries, geologic rumblings could be followed by political upheavals in both countries.

Gilles Kepel

By Gilles Kepel

A woman sits on the rubble of a destroyed building in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, a day after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country's southeast, on Feb. 7, 2023.

Hopes dim amid frantic earthquake rescues, as Turkey declares state of emergency

President Erdogan says there are more than 53,000 rescuers in the 10 provinces, but locals complain that some neighborhoods are abandoned as hopes run out for people trapped in the debris.

Collapsed buildings are seen in Hatay, following the two earthquakes that hit on Monday, Turkey, Feb. 7, 2023.

In Turkey, questions about country's preparedness after massive earthquake

Only 0.5% of spending from the central government budget last year went to programs related to urban improvements and disaster management in quake-prone Turkey.

Rescuers search for survivors through the rubble in Sanliurfa, on Feb. 6, 2023, after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country's south-east. -

How will Turkey’s killer earthquakes impact the country’s politics?

The mood of the public could very well shift against Erdogan and the AKP if their response to the earthquake is not swift.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey faces tough options on Syrian rebel allies amid Damascus thaw

Ankara’s quest to restore ties with Damascus has left its Syrian rebel allies confused as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadi group controlling Idlib, seeks to raise its profile and lure the disenchanted to its ranks.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Syrian refugees in Turkey watch uneasily as Erdogan warms to Assad

Syrians in Turkey are wary of losing refuge as the Turkish President eyes dialogue with Assad

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Fledgling Turkish-Syrian dialogue faces bumpy road ahead

Ankara and Damascus need to moderate their positions to avoid a collision in their quest for normalization.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar is seen seated at the start of the North Atlantic Council meeting on the final day of the NATO defense ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 13, 2022.

Turkish defense chief warns Syrian rebels against ‘provocation’

As the Turkish president eyes a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, the Turkish defense chief warns Ankara-backed armed groups against “provocations” amid ongoing Syrian protests against the Damascus-Ankara thaw.