President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday Turkey could go as far as breaking off diplomatic ties with Israel if the United States formally recognizes Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, a move he said would be a "red line" for Muslims.
"Jerusalem is the red line for all Muslims. We could go as far as cutting diplomatic ties with Israel over the issue," Erdogan said in response to the U.S.'s stated intentions.
"We will call for an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Istanbul if the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as the Israeli capital."
Erdogan once again criticized the U.S. on its methods to fight Daesh terrorist group in Syria, which has been largely carried out through the PKK terrorist group's Syrian offshoot Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing People's Protection Units (YPG).
"No one can dogmatize Turkey regarding the war against Daesh, because Turkey is the only NATO member directly fighting the terrorist group," he said.
Erdogan also slammed the evacuation deals reached with Daesh militants, saying that these terrorists will later be used elsewhere to disrupt peace and stability in the Middle East. "Daesh militants [set free] in Raqqa operation will be deployed in deserts of Sinai and Egypt. They will serve there from now on and we (Turkey) will be monitoring this," he said.
"Against whom will the U.S. use these truckloads of weapons amassed at our borders?" the president questioned. "Against Daesh? There is no Daesh there anymore. Against Syria? No, they are in the same coalition. Iraq? No, they already invaded there."
"They will use them against Iran, or Turkey or Russia, if they dare."
Erdogan added that Turkey will "very soon completely destroy" the groups in Syria linked to the PKK.
Regarding the ongoing trial in the U.S. of a public bank's deputy general manager accused of violating Iran sanctions, Erdogan said, "It appears that this case is being kept on the agenda to make Turkey give up on its gains in the region."
He once again said that Turkey did not violate any of the sanctions, but it is being accused of doing so to due to a larger domestic political clash inside the U.S. surrounding President Donald Trump in various issues.
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