Erdogan repeats call for defending Jerusalem's status

By Cansu Dikme

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday renewed his call on UN member nations to back the status of the contested city Jerusalem.

“I invite once again all UN member nations to defend the historical status of Jerusalem,” Erdogan said during a joint news conference with his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh in the capital Ankara.

“We, as Turkey, will continue to follow this issue till the end,” Erdogan added.

On Monday, 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.

The move comes less than two weeks after Washington moved to recognize the holy city as Israel's capital and began the process to move its embassy there from Tel Aviv -- the city where all other nations house their main diplomatic facilities.

Fourteen council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-sponsored resolution that would have demanded U.S. President Donald Trump reverse course on the decision. The U.S. was the sole dissenting vote.

Bilateral relations

Erdogan said the two leaders had discussed bilateral relations during a closed-door meeting.

“We agreed on improving the trade and economic relations,” he said.

The president said the presence of Turkish investors in the East African country will pave the way for strong relations between the two countries.

"To date, we have been with our Djiboutian brothers and will from now on put effort to support them," Erdogan said.

Guelleh, for his part, called the meeting "fruitful".

"There was significant and fruitful cooperation between the two brotherly countries," Guelleh said.

Ahead of the joint news conference, Turkey and Djibouti signed four cooperation agreements in different areas, including health, defense and education.