Turkey to act against U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Golan: FM

Turkey will take action against the U.S. decision to recognize the Syrian Golan Heights as Israeli territory, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday.

"The U.S. has once again ignored the international law. However, this decision will never legitimize Israeli occupation. On the contrary, it will further increase tensions in the region by preventing peace efforts in the Middle East," Cavusoglu said on his official Twitter account.

The minister later told reporters in Antalya Province that Turkey would take necessary steps along with the international community against the U.S. decision.

Cavusoglu said Trump has turned the proclamation which recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights into a "show" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"We object this decision. We cannot accept this," he stressed.

Meanwhile, Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin tweeted that the U.S. decision is "a new manifestation of the anti-peace oriented mentality."

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party spokesman Omer Celik said Turkey "will stand against this decision till the end. President Trump's signature is illegal."

At a meeting with Netanyahu earlier in the day, Trump signed a decree recognizing Israeli sovereignty over territory that Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Trump's statement was bringing the Middle East region "on the brink of a new crisis."

"We cannot allow the legitimization of the occupation of the Golan Heights," Erdogan said in a speech at an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)