Turkey expects 'strong support' for UN Jerusalem vote

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey expects a large show of support for Thursday’s Jerusalem vote at the UN General Assembly, according to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"We expect strong support from the world in today's #Palestine vote at the UN General Assembly,” Cavusoglu wrote on Twitter, referring to a vote condemning the widely criticized U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

"No honorable, creditable state will resign itself to the pressures, threats of the countries like the U.S. Everyone will decide in the direction of the conscience of their nation," he added.

His remarks came a day after President Donald Trump’s threat to cut aid to countries that vote for the UN resolution today.

Cavusoglu, together with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki, left Istanbul on Wednesday to fly to New York for the vote.

Less than two weeks after Washington decided to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move its embassy there from Tel Aviv -- the city where all other nations house their main diplomatic missions in Israel -- the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning its decision.

All 14 other Security Council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-sponsored resolution before it was nixed by the U.S. veto. The Council episode could signal a lopsided General Assembly vote should member states choose to defy Trump's warning.

The full 193-member UN General Assembly will meet for a rare emergency special session on Trump's Dec. 6 decision. Unlike at the Security Council, the U.S. has no veto power in the assembly.

Jerusalem's status has long been considered a final 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.