Deutsche Welle. Turkey’s president heavily criticized US President Donald Trump on Thursday after he threatened to cut funding over a UN General Assembly vote on a motion rejecting his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“I am calling on the whole world: never sell your democratic will in return for petty dollars,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Ankara.
On Wednesday, Trump threatened to cut funding to countries that voted to back the motion, while the US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said Washington “will be taking names” during the vote.
“Mr. Trump, you cannot buy Turkey’s democratic will with your dollars. Our decision is clear,” the Turkish leader added on Thursday. Erdogan has been among the most vocal critics of Trump’s decision
He said that he believed the “world will teach a very good lesson to America” on Thursday as UN member states vote on the measure at an emergency session.
Netanyahu: UN is ‘house of lies’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the UN as a “house of lies” ahead of Thursday’s vote.
He acknowledged that the resolution will likely pass in the General Assembly by a large margin and that his country “completely rejects this vote before it is made.”
“Jerusalem is our capital and we will continue to build there and embassies of countries, firstly the United States, will move to Jerusalem. This will happen,” Netanyahu said.
The draft resolution before the 193-member UN General Assembly reaffirms that Jerusalem is an issue that must be resolved through peace negotiations with Palestine and Israel. (EN): UN Jerusalem vot…
Trump’s decision on December 6 to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the US embassy there broke with decades of US foreign policy and broke with international consensus on the issue.
The move also sparked protests around the world and outrage from Palestinians, who want the eastern sector of the city to be the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
The measure was vetoed by the US at the UN Security Council on Monday although all other 14 council members voted in favor of the draft.
Photo – Deutsche Welle