Erdogan calls for nations to back General Assembly motion on Jerusalem

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s president is calling on nations to back a non-binding resolution that is expected to be brought to the UN General Assembly and seeks the cancellation of US President Donald Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes the appeal during a joint news conference with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, a day after the US vetoed such a resolution in the UN Security Council.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a meeting on refugees in Ankara, Turkey, on December 18, 2017.(Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Pool Photo via AP)

Fourteen other members of the Security Council supported the resolution — a move Erdogan describes as “important and meaningful.”

The Turkish leader says: “I invite all UN member countries to defend Jerusalem’s historic status (in the 193-member General Assembly).”

Erdogan has been among the most vocal critics of Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem.

— AP