Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at a press conference in Ankara, Turkey, on Aug. 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Mustafa kaya)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey might suspend its diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or call back its ambassador over UAE's deal with Israel.
ISTANBUL, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey might suspend its diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or call back its ambassador over UAE's deal with Israel.
"We stand with the Palestinian people. We have not let Palestine be defeated, or let it be defeated," Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul.
"I have given the necessary instructions to my foreign minister. We may either suspend diplomatic ties (with UAE) or recall our ambassador," he stressed.
In a written statement issued earlier in the day, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said "the history and the conscience of the region's people would never forgive the hypocritical behavior of the UAE."
The Tel Aviv Municipality Hall is illuminated with the colors of the national flag of the United Arab Emirates in the central Israeli city of Tel Aviv on Aug. 13, 2020. (Xinhua/Gideon Markowicz/JINI)
Turkey believes that the deal, which would lead to the full normalization of the diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel, would ignore the will of Palestine.
Meanwhile, Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin tweeted that "their miserable policies will not deter but give only strength to those who believe in justice, freedom, and nobility."
Israel and the UAE on Thursday reached a deal on the full normalization of relations. ■
