Türkiye reaffirms humanitarian stance amid refugee crisis

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on Thursday emphasized the nation’s unwavering commitment to a humanitarian approach in handling the refugee crisis.

Altun highlighted Türkiye's longstanding history of hosting millions of refugees, citing regional conflicts as the primary cause of displacement.

"We continue to insist on a humanitarian approach because we believe in the dignity and freedom of people who have been victims of conflict and even targeted by their own governments."

Altun acknowledged the Turkish people's generosity and compassion, saying: "Our people have sacrificed a lot and supported their brethren in the region generously."

He stressed that Türkiye’s foreign policy remains dedicated to humanitarian principles despite various pressures and provocations. “We didn’t let fringe opposition groups to turn this issue to inflame anti-immigrant sentiments. We will not allow external actors to exploit some grievances to dictate our policy, either.”

Addressing recent criticisms, Altun condemned efforts to depict Türkiye as hostile toward refugees.

He clarified that while there have been occasional tensions and unfortunate incidents in Türkiye, these do not represent a widespread and sustained anti-refugee wave.

"Those who are arguing otherwise are either clueless about the facts or they are participating in an ill-fated disinformation campaign against our country," he asserted.

He contrasted Türkiye's humanitarian approach with the "security-oriented, xenophobic, and Islamophobic" policies of many European countries, criticizing the hypocrisy of Western political groups that preach human rights while tolerating xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments.

Highlighting the need for international cooperation, Altun said: “We have expressed our willingness, time and again, to work with the like-minded organizations to address the issue of burden sharing but we have received very little support so far.”

Reiterating Türkiye’s commitment to resolving the Syrian conflict, Altun emphasized the importance of creating conditions for the safe return of refugees. "Our policy is to end the conflict and rebuild a Syria that has its territorial integrity intact with its citizens living in peace and freedom," he noted.

"Türkiye will continue to be a force of stability and peace in a turbulent region. This is what everyone can be sure of," he said, urging especially Western countries to practice what they “preach through cooperation and burden sharing.”