Turkey’s Erdogan denounces UN Security Council as ‘Israel protection council’

By AFP and ToI Staff 9 December 2023, 4:00 pm 1 Edit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a joint press conference with Turkmenistan's president, after their meeting at the presidential complex in Ankara on October 26, 2023. (Adem Altan/AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounces the UN Security Council after the United States vetoed a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, describing the international body as the “Israel protection council.”

“Since October 7, the security council has become an Israel protection and defense council,” Erdogan says.

The United States on Friday vetoed the ceasefire resolution which failed to condemn Hamas’s October 7 massacres in Israel — in which thousands of terrorists killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 hostages — or to acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself.

“Is this justice?” asks Erdogan, adding that “the world is bigger than five,” a reference to the five veto-wielding nations in the UN Security Council.

“Another world is possible, but without America,” the Turkish leader says.

“The United States stands by Israel with its money and military equipment. Hey, America! How much are you going to pay for that?” he adds.