Erdogan: America Creates Wrong Calculations Regarding The Middle East

JAKARTA - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the administration of US President Donald Trump made "miscal calculations" regarding the Middle East. Erdogan said strengthening "ionist lies" would only worsen the conflict.

Turkey has rejected Trump's plan to expel more than 2 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, claiming US control of the region and turning it into a Central East Riviera. They also said Israel's attack on Gaza was genocide, and called for international action against its government.

Unfortunately, the United States made a wrong calculation of our region. We must not take an approach that ignores the history, values and accumulation of this area," he said, according to a transcript of comments to journalists on flights home from Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan.

Erdogan said he hoped Trump would fulfill his election campaign promises to take peace steps, rather than create new conflicts.

He said he saw no clear signs of a ceasefire in Gaza despite a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and said the Muslim world was still unable to take collective steps on the matter.