Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has warned that US President Donald Trump's recent statement on the Golan Heights puts "the Middle East region on the brink of a new crisis".
“We cannot allow the legitimisation of the occupation of the Golan Heights”, Erdogan told a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Friday.
READ MORE: Netanyauhu Thanks US for Opposing UN Resolution on Golan Heights
The statement comes after the Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned US President Trump’s comments on the Golan Heights as “irresponsible”, adding that the Syrian people are determined to recover the area through “all available means”.
The Ministry pointed out that Trump's statement "confirms the US’s blind commitment to Israel and support for its aggressive behaviour". According to the Ministry, Washington is violating a UN resolution which describes Israel's intentions to establish its laws in the Golan Heights as invalid and illegal.
Trump tweeted on Thursday that “after 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognise Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and regional stability”.
READ MORE: Trump: Time for US to Fully Recognise Israel's Sovereignty Over Golan
In a separate development that day, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed during his visit to Jerusalem that President Trump had been sent by God to Earth in order to save Israel.
The UN, which did not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the region, brokered a Syrian-Israeli armistice in 1974, urging Israel to leave parts of the Golan Heights.
In 1981, Israel adopted a law extending its jurisdiction over the territory, in a move that has never been recognised internationally and that further exacerbated Israeli-Syrian ties.
