Beyond the Headlines: What do Turkey’s warming relations with Syria mean for refugees?

Hundreds of rioters were arrested at the start of this month after angry mobs in Turkey vandalised cars and shops belonging to Syrian refugees. Fuelled by reports that a Syrian man had assaulted a young girl, nationalist Turks violently protested over their government’s alleged inaction towards the Syrian refugee crisis in their country.

But it’s part of a much wider story. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week made the most direct statement yet that he’s willing to reinstate ties with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al Assad. This shift in tone would mark a breakthrough since Ankara and Damascus severed diplomatic ties following Syria’s 2011 uprisings and subsequent civil war.

Today more than 3 million Syrians who fled the violence and crackdowns in their homeland live in Turkey. But growing discontent and xenophobic sentiments toward them, alongside the possibility of normalised relations with Assad, have led to fears that refugees might have to return to a divided and dangerous Syria.

For insight into what’s going on and what may happen next, host Nada AlTaher speaks to The National’s Istanbul correspondent Lizzie Porter, senior researcher at TRENDS Research and Advisory Serhat Cubukcuoglu and Syria analyst Sam Heller.