Erdogan expresses concern about US stance on disputed Golan Heights

U.S. President Donald Trump's statement that it was time to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights has brought the region to the edge of a new crisis, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday. In a speech at a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Erdogan said: "we cannot allow the legitimisation of the occupation of the Golan Heights".

President Trump declared on Thursday that the United States should recognize Israel's authority over the long-disputed Golan Heights, delivering a valuable election-eve gift to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but jettisoning decades of American policy in the Middle East.

Trump's announcement, in a midday Twitter post, came after persistent pressure from Netanyahu, a close political ally who is fighting for his survival in the election scheduled for April 9 and has invoked his friendship with the American president as a prime argument for staying in office.