Turkish president slams US plan to cut UN funding

By Ozcan Yildirim and Cansu Dikme

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday criticized the U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to cut funding of the United Nations.

“The U.S. will apparently withdraw its [financial] support on the UN. I think you said you are a democrat, you believed in democracy. In this case, you are a democrat if everything goes as you wish,” Erdogan said while speaking at the provincial congress of ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in northwestern province of Duzce.

On Tuesday, the U.S. announced that it would reduce its funding of the UN by $285 million for the coming fiscal year.

The announcement by Nikki Haley, the U.S. envoy to the UN, came shortly after UN member nations voted overwhelmingly to oppose a decision by President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel -- a move that drew condemnation and protests from across the Arab and Muslim world.

On Dec. 21, the full 193-member UN General Assembly met for a rare emergency special session regarding Trump's decision. Unlike at the Security Council, the U.S. has no veto power in the assembly.

A total of 128 members voted in favor of the resolution while nine countries voted against it and 35 others abstained. Twenty-one countries did not cast a vote.