Turkey will continue to support Syrian President Ahmed al-Asad during the transition period, Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan has said.

"We are determined not to leave Ahmed al-Asad alone in Syria. We do not want Syria to fall apart, we see the restoration of Syria as a positive factor for our country. Because the restoration of Syria will also have a positive impact on its relations with us," Erdogan said.

According to him, Turkey will continue to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland. “We see that the voluntary return of Syrians who are with us to their country has begun. We will provide all possible support to speed up the process of voluntary return of refugees,” the Turkish president said, expressing the view that the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland will contribute to stabilization in the neighboring country. “By speeding up the return process, we want the situation in Syria to quickly normalize and for us to secure our southern border,” Erdogan added.