Turkish FM to visit NY for UN Jerusalem vote

ANKARA Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will head to New York for a UN General Assembly vote on Jerusalem Thursday morning, diplomatic sources said Wednesday. The UN will convene on Thursday morning for a General Assembly vote on the U.S. decision on Jerusalem, said the Turkish sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media. Cavusoglu, who is currently in the Azerbaijani capital Baku for the 5th trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran, is expected to meet with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki Wednesday evening in Istanbul and hold a press conference afterwards, before leaving for New York with al-Malki. He will also carry out negotiations in support of Palestine before the vote, the sources added. The move comes two weeks after Washington announced its decision to recognize the holy city as Israel's capital and begin the process to move its embassy there from Tel Aviv -- the city where all other nations house their main diplomatic facilities. The U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that rejected the establishment of diplomatic facilities in the contested city of Jerusalem, breaking with the rest of the council. Fourteen council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-sponsored resolution that would have demanded that Trump reverse course on the decision. The U.S. was the sole dissenting vote. Jerusalem's status has long been considered a final status issue to be determined by Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and Trump's decision is widely seen as undercutting that long-standing understanding. East Jerusalem, which Palestinians are seeking to make the capital of their state, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967. Speaking at a news conference in Baku Tuesday, Cavusoglu said Turkey, along with the international community, would continue to pressure the U.S. over its decision, adding that the world of superpowers imposing their will was no more. "You must be fair, obey international law and UN resolutions. If you are a permanent member of the UN Security Council, you have to obey first," he said. The Turkish Foreign Ministry also issued a statement, emphasizing that Thursday’s General Assembly emergency special session was convened through Turkey's efforts. “[...]A delegation consisting of OIC and Arab League members headed by our Permanent Representative to the UN visited the President of the UN General Assembly to enable the UN General Assembly to meet in an “Emergency Special Session,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. The statement said Turkey expected the confirmation of “the invalidity of the U.S. Administration’s decision and preservation of the historical and legal status of Jerusalem".