ISTANBUL: The expected US move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel risks igniting a 鈥渇ire鈥� in the Middle East and will prove a 鈥済reat disaster,鈥� the Turkish government said on Wednesday.
The recognition will 鈥渢hrow the region and the world into a fire and it鈥檚 not known when it will end,鈥� Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag wrote on Twitter.
He warned that the move was a 鈥済reat disaster for everyone鈥� that would lead the way to 鈥渢urmoil, chaos and clashes鈥� and could produce 鈥渦npleasant things that we have not forseen.鈥�
The recognition of the city as Israel鈥檚 capital and the moving of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem 鈥� expected to be announced by President Donald Trump later Wednesday 鈥� showed 鈥済reat intolerance and mindlessness,鈥� Bozdag said.
Bozdag added that the recognition would 鈥渄estroy the peace process,鈥� saying that the issue of Jerusalem was the key to peace in the Middle East and the world.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Brussels ahead of meeting US counterpart Rex Tillerson that the move is a 鈥渕istake鈥� that 鈥渨ill not bring stability and peace but rather chaos and instability.鈥�
Asked whether he would bring the issue up with Tillerson, the minister said: 鈥淚 have already told him and I will tell him again.鈥�
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had warned Tuesday that the status of Jerusalem is a 鈥渞ed line鈥� for Muslims and could even prompt Turkey to cut ties with Israel.
Erdogan 鈥� who regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause 鈥� is due to hold talks later in Ankara with Jordanian King Abdullah II who is also a strong opponent of the move.
Last year, Turkey and Israel ended a rift triggered by Israel鈥檚 deadly storming in 2010 of a Gaza-bound ship that left 10 Turkish activists dead and led to a downgrading of diplomatic ties.
The two sides have since stepped up cooperation in particular in energy but Erdogan is still often bitterly critical of Israeli policy.
The United States supports a strong relationship between Turkey, the key Muslim member of NATO, and Israel, which is Washington鈥檚 main ally in the Middle East.