Erdogan calls on Muslim countries to unite

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday urged Islamic nations to unite and show solidarity with each other.

In an interview with the Saudi Arabia-based television channel, Rotana, Erdogan said despicable developments are being formed against the Islamic world.

“Turkey and Saudi Arabia are being targeted. We see that all pitfalls and plans are pointed against the Islamic world,” he said.

At least 600,000 people have been killed in Syria due to the ongoing war, he said, and the Islamic world should cooperate even more closely before it is too late.

Turkey and the U.S. launched an operation in northern Syria in late August to clear the area of Daesh elements. Ankara has no expansionist designs for Syria, Erdogan said as he indicated his country currently hosts nearly 3 million refugees at a cost of $12.5 billion because of an “Islamic and emotional duty”.

He added that the West evades responsibility to refugees and those countries are closing their borders.

Regarding the situation in Iraq, he said Mosul belongs to its residents.

“After Mosul will be rescued from Daesh, only Sunni Arabs, Turkmen and Sunni Kurds should remain there,” he said.

Turning to developments in Washington, a U.S. bill passed last week that allows victims of terrorist attacks to sue foreign governments deemed responsible was a point of concern for Erdogan as he joined Saudi officials in voicing apprehension about the legislation.

“We expressed disapproval due to of the 9/11 victims bill,” Erdogan said.

The U.S. Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor to override President Barack Obama’s veto of the Justice against State Sponsors of Terrorism Act that is supported by the families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington who hope to sue the Saudi government for its alleged role in the attacks.

Obama has argued that the bill would open U.S. military personnel and officials to lawsuits by foreign governments.