Turkish FM to attend UN vote meeting on Jerusalem

ANKARA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will travel to New York to attend Thursday's United Nations General Assembly vote on Jerusalem, local media reported.

The minister would start his journey after meeting his Iranian and Azerbaijani counterparts in Baku on Wednesday, the Daily Sabah reported, citing the Foreign Ministry's sources.

Cavusoglu would fly to the U.S. accompanied by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, the report said.

The UN General Assembly will hold an emergency session on Thursday to vote on a proposed measure vetoed by the U.S. at the Security Council.

On Monday, the United States vetoed a draft resolution that rejected the establishment of diplomatic facilities in Jerusalem, while the other 14 members of the UN Security Council voted in favor of the Egypt-drafted text.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has expressed regrets about the U.S. veto of the resolution.

Since U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital early in the month, Turkish leaders have been harshly criticizing the controversial move.

Last week, Turkey hosted a summit of Muslim leaders, which issued a communique to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. Enditem