Turkish, Palestinian presidents meet in Istanbul

By Sefa Mutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday met his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Istanbul.

According to a Turkish presidential source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said the leaders met at the Beylerbeyi Palace, where they have a closed-door meeting that lasted for one hour.

The meeting came a day before an extraordinary summit of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the wake of U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The summit in Istanbul follows Erdogan’s call on OIC member countries to gather extraordinarily after the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement last week was followed by worldwide opposition.

Jerusalem remains at the core of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- now occupied by Israel -- might eventually serve as the capital of a future state.

During his election campaign last year, Trump repeatedly promised to relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.