Turkey concerned over Czech Republic’s opening of embassy office in Jerusalem
Ankara (QNN)- Turkey has expressed concerns today over the Czech Republic’s announcement on opening a diplomatic office in the occupied capital of Jerusalem.
“We are concerned that the Czech Republic opened a diplomatic office in Jerusalem whose international status is guaranteed by UN resolutions,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said in the statement.
“The move would serve the attempts to erode the status of Jerusalem, one of the main parameters of the Palestine-Israel conflict,” it added.
Turkey also called on all members of the international community to respect the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and the international criteria for a fair, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Lately, the Czech Republic opened a diplomatic office in Jerusalem, affiliated to its embassy in Tel Aviv, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.
“We keep our promise,” said Babis.
“The Czech Republic will have a full-fledged diplomatic mission here in Jerusalem. It will deal with a lot — ranging from politics, economic cooperation, consular agenda, and other topics. It will have a permanent staff and work under the lead of our embassy in Tel Aviv.”
The Czech foreign ministry announced its plans to open the mission in December.
The Czech Republic is the second European Union member state, after Hungary, to open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem.
European Union member states had refused to move their embassies to Jerusalem pending a final agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians on the issue of the holy city.
Palestinian officails oppose the step and have called on the Czech Republic to reverse the decision.
