President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Türkiye stated that the United States should urgently reverse its decision to cancel the visas of Palestinian officials and prevent them from attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday aboard his flight, President Erdoğan stated, “This decision must be changed immediately. The UN General Assembly exists to discuss global issues and to seek solutions.”
President Erdoğan further stressed, “The absence of the Palestinian delegation from the UN General Assembly would only please Israel. What people expect from the U.S. is to say ‘stop’ to Israel’s massacres and oppression.”
On 29 August, the U.S. State Department announced that, ahead of the 80th UN General Assembly, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had instructed officials to reject the visa applications of certain Palestinian representatives or revoke their existing visas.