Erdogan: Turkey Consider to Suspending Diplomatic Relations with UAE

Ankara, MINA – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was considering suspending diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and withdrawing its ambassador after an agreement between the UAE and Israel to normalize relations.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry in a statement also said history would never condone the UAE’s “hypocritical behavior” in agreeing to such a deal, which changed the political order of the Middle East, AlJazeera reported on Saturday.

Palestinian leaders denounced the announcement as a “stab in the back” for their cause.

“The move against Palestine is not an acceptable step. Now, Palestine is closing its embassy and its ambassador. The same is true for us now,” Erdogan said.

“I told him [foreign minister], we can also take steps toward suspending diplomatic relations with the Abu Dhabi leadership or withdrawing our ambassador,” he stressed.

Under the US-brokered deal, the first between Israel and a Gulf Arab state, Israel agreed to suspend plans to annex the occupied West Bank.

The agreement makes the UAE as the third Arab country to have full relations with Israel, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. (T/R7/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)