Senior Turkish deputy calls UN decision way out for US

By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA

Turkish parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee head said that the UN General Assembly's decision provided an opportunity for the U.S. to back down on its Jerusalem decision.

During a meeting with Kazakhstan's Ambassador in Ankara Abzal Saparbekuly on Friday, Volkan Bozkir said that he welcomed the UN General Assembly's clear-cut rejection of the U.S. decision on Jerusalem.

"I hope that the U.S. has taken a lesson from this decision," said Bozkir.

He called on the U.S. to understand its misstep on its Jerusalem move.

"The decision [of the UN] actually provides a way out to the U.S.," said Bozkir.

Bozkir added that the decision was also a great achievement on the part of Turkey and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The nonbinding resolution, sponsored by Turkey and Yemen, was approved by 128 countries with nine votes against.

Apart from the U.S. and Israel, seven nations opposed the motion. Among the rest of the 193 members, 35 abstained while 21 delegations were absent from the vote.

On Monday, the U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by the 14 other council members calling on Trump to reverse his Jerusalem declaration.

Hasan Turan, the head of parliament’s Turkey-Palestine parliamentary friendship group, said that the world had punished the arrogant manner of the U.S. and Israel.

"The U.S., with its stance against this oppression and occupation, showed once again that it cannot be a mediator for the world issues," said Turan in a news conference on Friday.

Turan also called on the international community to officially recognize free and independent Palestine state.