Turkey’s Erdoğan: ‘Out of the question’ for US to broker Mideast peace deal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly said Wednesday that it’s “out of the question” for the United States to broker peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Speaking at a meeting for members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Erdoğan argued that peace talks should be negotiated through the United Nations.

“From now on, it is out of the question for a biased United States to be a mediator between Israel and Palestine, that period is over,” Erdoğan said, according to Reuters.

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“We need to discuss who will be a mediator from now on. This needs to be tackled in the [United Nations] too,” the Turkish president added.

The remarks followed an OIC summit to discuss President Trump’s announcement last week that the United States would officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. 

Erdoğan and other Muslim leaders at the summit this week slammed the decision, Reuters reported.

Trump’s declaration about the holy city was met with condemnation from European and Arab world leaders and sparked concerns over potential unrest in the Middle East region.

Trump also said he would put plans in motion to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, though he also signed a six-month waiver placing the move on hold.

Following Trump’s speech, the Jordanian government said it, along with Turkey, would host a summit for the OIC member states to discuss the decision.

The status of Jerusalem, which is home to holy sites for all three major monotheistic religions, is arguably one of the most contentious issues within peace deal negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

East Jerusalem, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, was not part of the original lines drawn for the country. Palestinians claim this part of the city as the capital of a future independent state.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the administration is not taking sides in the dispute over east Jerusalem and that the future of the contested part of the city will be determined during peace negotiations.

Erdoğan at the summit called on nations to officially acknowledge that Jerusalem is “the occupied capital of Palestine.” 

“We cannot be late any more,” he said, according to Reuters.