"Among the people living within our borders are some with high levels of education, experience and means. Treating these people otherwise would mean a betrayal of humanitarian values. There are people who will make a great contribution to our country. Our interior minister is now working to grant citizenship to these people," Erdogan said, as quoted by the Turkish Minute media outlet.
Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, following the protests that had turned violent, as part of the so-called Arab Spring. During the conflict, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed and millions more have been displaced.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at the moment there are more than 4.8 million of refugees from the war-torn Middle Eastern nation, while 2.8 million of them are currently in Turkey.
