Ahmet Davutoglu
Photo: AFP
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Photo: Reuters
'Turkey wants Palestine to become full member of UN'
Ankara hosts Arab foreign ministers' summit in show of support for Palestinians. FM Davutoglu says Turkey wants to 'see Palestinian flag wave outside United Nations' building'
Turkey wants to see the Palestinian flag wave outside the United Nations' building as one of the world body's full members, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Saturday.
According to the Turkish daily Hurriyet, Davutoglu's remark was made during the fifth Turkish-Arab Cooperation Forum, held in Istanbul.
Related stories:
- World coverage: UN says no to US, yes to Palestinians
- Turkey's Erdogan plans Gaza visit
- Erdogan accuses Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza
Turkey hosted 15 countries, represented at foreign ministers level, Saturday, in a summit said to be a show of support of the Palestinian Authority following its successful UN bid to upgrade its status to that of an "observer state."
The Palestinian bid garnered an overwhelming majority at the UN General Assembly, with 138 countries voting in favor of it. Forty-one nations abstained in the vote, five were absent altogether and nine nations voted against it.
The 'Palestinian flag' cake (Screenshot)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Arab foreign ministers celebrated the Palestinians' success with a special "Palestinian flag" cake.
"Our responsibility for the Palestinian people has not ended yet," Davutoglu said. "We will keep on working to make Palestine attain the position it deserves on an international platform.
"It is time to harshly react to Israel's policies, which have damaged the peace process, he said.
Turkey's European Union Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, speaking at the summit, said that "Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the biggest architect of Palestine's historic day.
"This is the final point of the process that was initiated with the '1 minute' rise," Bagis said, referring to the talks held at the World Economic Forum between Erdogan and President Shimon Peres.
According to a report by Turkey's Anadolu News Agency, Bagis further stated that "Israel has no possibility of being in peace unless the Palestinian people, oppressed for many years, regain their state, their flag and their capital city Jerusalem."
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop
