Turkey describes Washington veto on Jerusalem as worrisome

Turkish presidential spokesman on Tuesday dubbed "worrisome" the U.S. decision to veto UN Security Council resolution against President Donald Trump's decision on Jerusalem.

"Turkey condemns [the U.S.] veto decision. It's quite worrisome that the U.S. administration is still insisting on their mistake and not stepping back from their decision despite all warnings from across the world," Ibrahim Kalin said during a symposium in Ankara.

Kalin went on to say that the UN General Assembly will convene on Thursday morning to vote on the decision.

"This is a significant milestone for Jerusalem cause… We would like to remind the whole world once again that Jerusalem is not a property to be delivered to Israel nor is it for sale and its holiness cannot be overridden."

The U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that rejected the establishment of diplomatic facilities in the contested city of Jerusalem, breaking with the rest of the council.

The move comes less than two weeks after Washington moved to recognize the holy city as Israel's capital and begin the process to move its embassy there from Tel Aviv -- the city where all other nations house their main diplomatic facilities.

Fourteen council members voted in favor of the Egyptian-sponsored resolution that would have demanded U.S. President Donald Trump reverse course on the decision. The U.S. was the sole dissenting vote.

Jerusalem's status has long been considered a final status issue to be determined by Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and Trump's decision is widely seen as undercutting that long-standing understanding. East Jerusalem, which Palestinians are seeking as the capital of their state, was occupied by Israel in 1967.