Sat 15 June 2019:
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday said Turkey rejects that the issue of Israel declaring Jerusalem as its capital is a done deal. “We reject efforts to create new fait accompli in Jerusalem,” Erdoğan told at the 5th Summit of Heads of State of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe. The conference is discussing political, economic, humanitarian and environmental issues, new challenges and threats. Erdoğan said Turkey has an active stance on Palestine issue. He also called on all the countries to respect the U.N. resolutions and the historical and legal status of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the perennial Mideast conflict, with Palestinians hoping East Jerusalem — occupied by Israel since 1967 — might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state. Erdoğan also address the conflict in Syria, saying that Turkey is doing its best to end the civil war in Syria and ensure stability there. He reiterated that Turkey hosts nearly 4 million Syrians. Erdoğan said Turkey is fighting against the PKK, its Syrian affiliate People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Daesh terror group, all of which threaten the future of Syria. He said efforts to eliminate one terror group by arming another, as the U.S. has done with its support for YPG in its fight against Daesh, will only result in more bloodshed.
