Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat announced on Sunday that about 40,000 Syrians have returned to their homeland from Turkey since the fall of the Syrian regime on December 8.

Bolat's statements came during a press conference during his visit to the Cilvegozu border gate in Hatay province in southeastern Turkey, where he conducted an inspection in a buffer zone.

According to Bolat, 27,941 Syrians have returned to their country through three border gates in Hatay since December 9 of last year.

Bolat said: "When adding those who were registered at other customs gates, the number of returning Syrians is close to 40,000 people."

He added that Syrian refugees in Turkey generally prefer to assess the conditions in their areas of origin before deciding to return.

Bolat expressed his belief that this step will accelerate returning refugees.

To facilitate this process, the Turkish Interior Ministry has introduced a new procedure that allows Syrians to temporarily visit their areas up to three times within six months.