Putin, Erdogan Say US Move On Jerusalem Destabilizes Mideast

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday warned that the US move on Jerusalem destabilises the Middle East and will not help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

Speaking at a joint news conference after his meeting with Putin, Erdogan criticised Israel for taking advantage of the US move on Jerusalem as "an opportunity to ramp up oppression and violence against the Palestinians."

"It is impossible for anyone who has a conscience, morality, or value to ignore the killings," the Turkish leader said.

He was apparently referring to the deaths of two Palestinians who were killed by Israeli forces in clashes over the weekend in the Palestinian territories during Palestinian protests against Israeli occupation and US President Donald Trump's decision last week to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Erdogan added that Turkey and Russia share the same position on the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and will keep close cooperation on the issue.

"We have seen the same approach on the US Jerusalem move. Both have agreed to continue our contacts in this regard," he said.

For his part, Putin said the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital did nothing to help solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and was destabilising the situation in the Middle East.

"The status of Jerusalem should be resolved by direct contacts between Israel and Palestine," Putin said.

Erdogan said that, as the chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Turkey had invited the Islamic leaders to hold a summit in Istanbul this week.

"I believe we will deliver a very strong message from there," he noted.

Both leaders also discussed the bilateral relations as well as regional developments, particularly Syria, while pledging to continue cooperation on the Astana political process to resolve the Syrian crisis.

They planned to hold a meeting next week in the Russian resort of Sochi, according to Erdogan.

At a time when Turkey's ties with the US and NATO are strained by a number of disputes, Ankara has cultivated closer ties with Russia.

The two leaders have been meeting regularly in the past months. They last met in Sochi on Nov 22 to discuss the issue of Syria with Iran.

Call for resumption of direct Palestine-Israel dialogue

Russia and Egypt have called for promptly resuming direct Palestine-Israel dialogue on all issues, including the status of Jerusalem.

"Our countries call for promptly resuming direct Palestine-Israel dialogue on all issues, including the status of Jerusalem," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a joint press conference with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

"There is a need to achieve long-term and fair agreements, which would be in the interest of both parties. And clearly, these agreements should be in line with the decisions previously made by the global community," Tass news agency quoted Putin as saying.

He added that Russia fully supported all the previous decisions of the United Nations Security Council on that matter.

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said that Jerusalem's status could be determined only based on international law and the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The Egyptian president, said Palestinian issue, particularly in light of the recent decision made by US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, was in main focus during his talks with Putin.

"We have discussed the possible consequences of this dangerous decision for efforts to establish peace in the Middle East," he said.

Stressing that Moscow valued Egypt's constructive approach towards the Middle East issues, Putin said that Russia welcomed the agreement signed by Fatah and Hamas in Cairo, aimed at strengthening Palestinian unity.