Sarp Ozer
29 March 2019•Update: 29 March 2019
ANKARA
Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Friday blasted the U.S. move to recognize Israel's sovereignty over occupied Golan Heights.
"This is wrong and the course is perilous. You sow the wind and reap the whirlwind," Akar said referring to the U.S. decision on Golan Heights, during his meeting with families of martyrs in Istanbul.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation officially recognizing Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
Israel occupies roughly two-thirds of the wider Golan Heights as a de facto result of the conflict. It moved to formally annex the territory in 1981 -- an action unanimously rejected at the time by the UN Security Council.
Israel has long pushed Washington to recognize its claim over the territory it seized from Syria during the 1967 six-day war.
Turkey, Russia, China, Germany others are already opposed to Washington’s most controversial move in recent years.
The defense minister added that Turkey expects everyone to empathize with developments in the Aegean Sea and it should not be provoked.
Akar said Turkey's foreign policy was based on peace, friendship and good relations with neighbors.
"However, we will not allow a fait accompli, we want everyone to know that we will do whatever necessary in line with self-defense and international laws," referring to possible hostilities in the surrounding seas.
He went on to say that Turkey had already taken all measures to defend its interest in the "blue homeland".
He also touched upon the fight against Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 coup attempt.
"So far, 16,294 personnel [affiliated with FETO] were expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces...Our fight against FETO continues without any flaws...The more FETO members cleared, the stronger our army grows," he said.
Writing By Faruk Zorlu, Ali Murat Alhas
