Erdogan speaks to Putin, thanks him for support in UN

By Ilkay Guder

ANKARA (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, thanking him for his support on Thursday's United Nations General Assembly vote.

According to presidential sources, Erdogan thanked Putin for voting in favor of a UN resolution rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s Dec. 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital -- a move that has drawn condemnation from across the Arab and Muslim world.

The phone talk between the two leaders included the welcoming of the UN vote which "displayed the illegality of U.S. decision on Jerusalem".

Two leaders also agreed on having close relations in near future, touched upon the Astana talks, as well as cooperation on energy and defense industry fields.

Among those voting in favor were Russia, China and several U.S. allies, notably Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Japan.

Unlike the UN’s 5-member Security Council, the U.S. does not have veto power in the General Assembly.

International law views the West Bank -- including East Jerusalem -- as “occupied territory” and considers all Jewish settlement building on the land to be illegal.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem might eventually serve as the capital of an independent state of Palestine.