Turkish FM to attend UN meeting on Jerusalem decision

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will be in the US on Thursday to participate in the planned United Nations General Assembly vote on Jerusalem.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

20 December, 2017

Turkey's FM Cavusoglu will travel to the UN ahead of a vote on Jerusalem [Getty]

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will travel to New York for Thursday's special session of the UN General Assembly to discuss the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel' capital.

Foreign ministry sources told Reuters that Cavusoglu will go to the United States after meeting with his Iranian and Azeri counterparts in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday.

One official said he will be accompanied by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.

Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour has said the General Assembly will vote on a draft resolution reaffirming that any decision on the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be rescinded.

The draft presented to the 15-member Security Council was vetoed by US ambassador Nikki Haley on Monday – marking the 43rd time the US has used its vote to throw out anti-Israel resolutions.

On Tuesday, Haley warned countries that she will report back to US President Donald Trump with the names of those who supported the draft on Thursday.

Trump on December 6 reversed decades of US policy when he recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and pledged to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.

The announcement spared outrage from Palestinians and the Arab world and warnings among Washington's Western allies of further violence.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan sharply criticised Trump's move, and hosted a summit of Muslim leaders in Istanbul last week calling for East Jerusalem to be recognised as the capital of Palestine.