ANKARA, Sunday, March 14, 2021 (WAFA) – Turkey voiced concern today over the Czech Republic's announcement on opening a diplomatic office in the occupied capital of Jerusalem.

"We are concerned that the Czech Republic opened a diplomatic office in Jerusalem whose international status is guaranteed by UN resolutions," the Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said in the statement, quoted by Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency.

"The move would serve the attempts to erode the status of Jerusalem, one of the main parameters of the Palestine-Israel conflict," it added.

Turkey also called on all members of the international community to respect the historical and legal status of Jerusalem and the international criteria for a fair, comprehensive and lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In a controversial move, the Czech Republic on Thursday opened a diplomatic office in Jerusalem, affiliated to its embassy in Tel Aviv.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the decades-long Mideast conflict, with Palestinians insisting that East Jerusalem, illegally captured by Israel since 1967, should serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.

Israel has been trying to convince world countries to transfer their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

European Union member states have refused to move their embassies to Jerusalem pending a final Palestinian-Israeli agreement on the issue of the holy city.

K.T/M.N