US plan aims to legitimize occupation of Palestine: Turkey

ANKARA

Turkey's National Security Council on Thursday said that the U.S.’s so-called peace plan aims to legitimize occupation, destruction and oppression of Palestine and Jerusalem.

"The only solution is the establishment of independent Palestine on the basis of 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," the council said in a statement issued following its meeting, headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the Turkish capital Ankara.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump released his much-hyped plan to end the Israel-Palestine dispute at the White House with Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu by his side.

There was, however, no Palestinian representative at the announcement, which saw Trump referring to Jerusalem as "Israel's undivided capital".

Trump’s so-called peace plan unilaterally annuls previous UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue and has drawn criticism for giving Israel almost everything it demanded.

Call for measures in Syria

The council stressed the importance of taking further measures against terrorism in various parts of Syria, especially Idlib.

Regarding the ongoing tension between the U.S. and Iran, the council reiterated the call for a “common sense” and “clear-headedness”.

Earlier this month, Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) elite Quds Force, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.

His death marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a 2015 nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.

Khamenei, who bestowed the country's highest honor on Soleimani last year, vowed "severe retaliation" in response to his killing. Iran's IRGC launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq.

Support for Libya’s UN-recognized government

Turkey will continue to support the UN-recognized government to achieve peace and stability in Libya, the council said.

It reiterated that all countries are invited to support efforts to establish a permanent cease-fire in Libya.

On Jan. 12, parties in Libya announced a cease-fire in response to a joint call by the leaders of Turkey and Russia. But two days later in Russia, talks for a permanent ceasefire ended without an agreement after Haftar left Moscow without signing the deal.

A week later, Haftar accepted terms in Berlin to designate members to a UN-proposed military commission with five members from each side to monitor the implementation of the cease-fire.

Since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN and international recognition.

Turkey’s National Security Council also condemned the attack in Somalia where Turkish citizens were among casualties.

On Dec. 28, at least 85 people were killed, including two Turkish nationals, and over 150 others wounded in a suicide truck attack in Mogadishu claimed by the al-Shabaab terrorist group.