ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country could suspend diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates after a landmark deal between Israel and the Gulf state.
“I have given the necessary instructions to my foreign minister. We may either suspend diplomatic ties or recall our ambassador because we stand with the Palestinian people. We have not let Palestine be defeated or let it be defeated,” said Erdogan.
The president said that Saudi Arabia has also been taking wrong steps in the region, as he also criticised Egypt for cooperating with Israel and Greece.
In the deal announced by the US, Israel pledged to suspend its planned annexation of parts of the West Bank in exchange for a normalisation of ties with the UAE.
The Palestinian Authority on Thursday announced the “immediate” recall of its ambassador to the UAE in protest at the deal.
Erdogan is a strong advocate of the Palestinian cause who has frequently criticized Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, Turkey still maintains diplomatic ties with Israel. Earlier this year, he criticised Washington’s Middle East peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as “treason”.
READ MORE: Turkey, Iran slams UAE for establishing ties with Israel
“History will not forget those who betray the Palestinian people and sell out the Palestinian cause,” Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, tweeted on Friday. “Turkey will continue to stand by the Palestinian people.”
The Turkish foreign ministry earlier described the UAE-Israel deal as a hypocritical betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
Ties between the UAE and Turkey have been strained for a long time, and have especially deteriorated over the conflict in Libya, where the two countries support opposing sides.
The UAE will be the third Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
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