Turkey, Russia back UN's rejection to U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday voiced their support for the UN's rejection to Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The two leaders made the remarks in a phone conversation, stressing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be resolved based on the UN resolution.

They underlined that the UN resolution "displayed the illegal essence of the U.S. decision on Jerusalem."

The two presidents emphasized that the United States should stick to the UN resolution and the international law in the matter of Jerusalem, as the city was of great significance to regional peace and stability.

Erdogan also expressed appreciation to Putin for his support on Thursday's UN General Assembly vote.

They also agreed on forming closer relations in near future, touched upon the Astana talks on Syria, as well as cooperation on energy and defense industries.

The UN on Thursday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution on Jerusalem, calling on the United States to withdraw its recognition of the holy city as Israel's capital.