Erdoğan says entire world a slave to Security Council decisions

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the entire world is literally a slave to the decisions of five permanent seat holders in the United Nations Security Council, questioning why no sanctions have been imposed on Israel which he said could be helpful in solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Erdoğan criticized the structure of Security Council in an interview with Time magazine and urged the elimination of their seats. He said one might wonder why no sanctions have been imposed on Israel while there are sanctions against Iran and Sudan. He argued that had these sanctions been imposed in this day and age, the Palestine-Israel conflict would have been resolved a long time ago. To achieve this, he claimed the UN needs reform, particularly in the Security Council. “What's the deal with these permanent seat holding members in the Security Council? They should be eliminated. The entire world is literally a slave to the decisions of these five permanent seat holders,” Erdoğan said in the interview. He also said that what is now required for the UN Security Council to say “yes” to the legitimate demands of the people in Palestine. Speaking about 1967 borders, Erdoğan said Israel first seemed to have accepted going back to the borders of 1967, but somehow seemed to have got distanced from this ideal, urging Israel to get closer back to it. Being a staunch supporter of Palestinians’ statehood bid during UN meetings, Erdoğan urged world nations in his UN address to recognize Palestine as an independent state. Erdoğan said in the interview that he wants to make a call out to humanity: “[the Palestinians] are there to exist. They are not there to be condemned to struggle in an open-air penitentiary.” Erdoğan’s criticized Israel's cruelty toward Palestinians and said it cannot be continued any longer. Israel responsible for bad relations with Turkey Erdoğan also accused Israel of being responsible for damaged relations between Turkey and Israel, claiming that Turkey’s mutual relations with Israel would have been reinforced even further only if Israel hadn't victimized the positive relations of two countries with [its 2010 raid] on the Mavi Marmara. Erdoğan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleges that the flotillas were actually loaded with weapons. “Why didn't they fire back then?” Erdoğan questioned. He said there are reports issued by both the UN Security Council and UN agencies in Geneva about this incident and that it is impossible to see the slightest trace that the flotillas were carrying guns. “The Israeli government is not being honest at all,” he added. Turkish prime minister also reiterated Turkey’s position on Israel and said the relations between the two countries will never become normalized if Turkey’s three demands – official apology, compensation and lifting Gaza blockade – are not met.

Erdoğan says entire world a slave to Security Council decisions