Çavuşoğlu, Lebanese FM Bassil discuss Jerusalem in phone call

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Wednesday called Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil to discuss means of "discouraging" the planned relocation of several foreign embassies to Jerusalem, according to Lebanon's Foreign Ministry.

The ministry noted in a statement that the two foreign ministers discussed joint measures that might be taken with a view to dissuading certain states from relocating their respective embassies to Jerusalem or recognizing the city as Israel's capital.

Çavuşoğlu and Bassil also reportedly discussed recent developments in the region, including Syria, and bilateral relations between their two countries.

Last November, Brazil's then-President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro announced his intention to relocate his country's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, with the Czech Republic following suit shortly afterward.

So far, the U.S. and Guatemala are the only two states to have officially relocated their embassies to Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority, the Cairo-based Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have all urged world capitals not to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital or transfer their embassies to the city.