US embassy move to Jerusalem shows lack of conscience, Turkish presidential official says

The head of the Presidency's Foreign Relations Department, Ayşe Sözen Usluer, stressed in an interview to Spanish newspaper El Pais that the United States has been acting like a rouge state and Washington's Jerusalem move shows lack of conscience and empathy.

"Since 1967 no country has opened its Israel embassy in Jerusalem. However, now the U.S. has taken a step violating U.N. resolutions. It acts like a rouge state," Usluer said in the interview, published on May 22, and pointed that the U.S. ignores the decisions of the international community.

The U.S. relocated its embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, despite the criticism from the international community. Ankara stressed that the U.S. should not insist on its misstep and warned that the move would add fuel to the fire in the Palestine crisis.

"The U.S. has not condemned the killing of 62 people, including a baby, at the hands of Israel and what is more it has continued the celebrations in the embassy. This showed their lack of conscience and empathy," Usluer stated.

On Dec. 6, U.S. President Donald Trump had recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and announced plans to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the city, sparking protests and unrest across the region.

Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital reversed decades of U.S. policy and has enraged Palestinians and triggered violent protests in Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel considers Jerusalem to be its eternal, indivisible capital and Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in a move that is not recognized internationally.

Commenting on the U.S. policies in the Middle East, Usluer said that "these policies will only bring more instability and cause more bloodshed." In relation to the Turkey's fight against terrorism and its operation in Afrin, Usluer highlighted that Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Syria and will leave Afrin when terrorist threats are completely eliminated. Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch at the end of January to eliminate PKK's Syrian affiliate, the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Touching on the YPG terrorists located in Manbij, Usluer said that with former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's Ankara visit, it was agreed that the terrorist group YPG would retreat and Turkey and the U.S. would control the security of the region.

However, she added that this was suspended until the new secretary took his office.

"Unless the problem is solved through diplomatic channels, Turkey will take measures to eliminate those terrorists posing threats to country's its national security," she said.