The United States’ decision to cancel visas for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and senior Palestinian officials ahead of the annual United Nations General Assembly has been condemned by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party as “unjust” and damaging to international diplomacy.
“The US administration’s cancellation of the visas of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian officials who were to attend the UN General Assembly is an unjust decision that undermines diplomacy,” AK Party spokesman Omer Celik said on Turkish social media platform NSosyal on Saturday.
Celik stressed that the move weakens the role of the UN, which was established as a forum where all nations — large and small — are given the opportunity to voice their positions. He warned that barring a legitimate authority from entering the US to participate in the General Assembly effectively attempts to strip the UN of its purpose.
“Preventing Palestine’s participation at such a crucial platform is an attempt to render the UN meaningless,” he said, adding that efforts to silence Palestine are taking place at a time when international backing for a two-state solution is steadily growing.
The AK Party spokesman emphasized that demands reportedly made of the Palestinian Authority — including calls to withdraw its applications to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and to halt its campaign for recognition of the State of Palestine — were both “unjust and unlawful in every respect.”
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Celik further argued that the decision would harm peace efforts rather than foster them, saying: “Trying to silence Palestine in the face of growing international support for a two-state solution will damage peace efforts.”
Quoting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he reiterated Ankara’s stance on global justice: “The world is bigger than five, and no one will be able to silence Palestine’s voice.”
He also underlined that Erdogan’s upcoming address at the General Assembly would once again serve as “the strongest voice for the Palestinian cause,” positioning Turkey as one of the most vocal advocates for Palestinian statehood on the international stage.