Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United States could not buy his country’s support in a UN vote on Jerusalem and expressed hope that the world would teach Washington a harsh lesson.
Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara on Thursday that America describes itself as the cradle of democracy, but it is acting in the very opposite way by trying to influence the decision of some countries at UNSC, by threatening to cut off the financial aid allocated by Washington.
He lashed out at US President Donald Trump, who declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel despite international warnings. “Mr. Trump, you can not buy the democratic will of Turkey with your dollars,” Erdogan said.
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“I call upon the whole world not to sell its democratic will for a few dollars,” he said. The Turkish president expressed hope that the United States will not get the result it expects from the United Nations, and that “the world will teach the United States a very good lesson.”
Erdogan ‘s comments came hours before the vote in the General Assembly of the United Nations on a draft resolution condemning the United States recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel after Washington confronted a draft resolution on Jerusalem at the UNSC.
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In this context, Turkish Prime Minister Ben Ali Yildirim also criticized the US threats to other countries that might vote against the Trump resolution on Jerusalem at the UN emergency session. Yildirim said in a speech in Ankara that the US president must understand that having power does not mean he is right.
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Turkey hosted an OIC conference last week at the invitation of Erdogan. The 57 member states declared East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine and urged other countries to do likewise. The United Nations General Assembly is voting on a draft resolution submitted by Turkey and Yemen on behalf of the Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has sparked widespread international condemnation.
