Turkey sees Trump's declaration on Jerusalem as 'null and void'

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday declared the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "null and void".

Turkey has been one of the most outspoken critics of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to label Jersualem the Israeli capital and move the U.S. Embassy there.

Speaking at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Sivas, central Turkey, Erdoğan said: "Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is null and void for us in any case.

"Declaring it as a capital and relocating the embassy has no validity for us."

Erdoğan has called an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday in Istanbul.

The president said it would draw up a roadmap for Muslim countries to follow as they opposed the U.S. decision. He added that Turkey would oppose the plan within international law and democratic principles.
"IMPLEMENTATION OF U.S. DECISION ON JERUSALEM WILL NOT BE EASY"
Decisions made at the approaching meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will show that U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital will not be easy to implement, Turkish President Erdoğan said on Sunday.

A spokesman for Erdoğan on Wednesday had announced that the OIC would a hold an urgent meeting in Turkey on Dec. 13 to coordinate a response to the decision by the United States.

The OIC, established in 1969, consists of 57 member states with a Muslim majority or a large Muslim population.

"We explained to all our interlocutors that the United States' decision does not comply with international law, diplomacy or humanity," Erdoğan said at a Justice and Development Party (AKP) assembly in Turkey's central province of Sivas, referring to phone calls he made to leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and the Pope.

"With the roadmap we will create during the OIC meeting, we will show that the decision will not be easy to implement," he said, adding that Turkey considers U.S. President Trump's Jerusalem announcement void.

The Arab League, in a statement issued after an emergency session in Cairo on Saturday, called the announcement a "dangerous violation of international law" and said it would seek a U.N. Security Council resolution rejecting the U.S. move.

The Arab League, which consists of Arabic-speaking nations, currently has 22 active member states.

Trump's announcement has also upset U.S. allies in the West. At the United Nations, France, Italy, Germany, Britain and Sweden called on the United States to "bring forward detailed proposals for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement".

Palestinians took to the streets after the U.S. announcement. Demonstrations also took place in Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Somalia, Yemen, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as outside the U.S. Embassy in Berlin.