BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — About half of the Syrian refugees who are currently in Turkey are seeking to return to their homeland, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said Tuesday.
"I can say, that around 50 percent [of the refugees] are wiling to stay in Turkey, while 50 percent want to come back to Syria when the conditions for this are established. Some people have already returned to certain Syrian regions," he said at a session of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In mid-March, Brussels and Ankara agreed a deal under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the European Union through its territory in exchange for Syrian refugees accommodated in Turkey, on a one-for-one basis. In return, the 28-nation bloc pledged to accelerate the Turkish EU accession bid and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and the bloc.
