US opinion on Israeli settlements not valid: Turkey FM

• US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that treating the settlements as illegal "hasn't worked". the latest in a series of policy shifts that have delighted Israel's right wing.
• Turkish Foreign Minister writes that such declarations "shall have no validity with respect to international law", "No country is above international law," he said.

ISTANBUL: Turkey said on Tuesday the United States declaration that it will no longer regard Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories as illegal has no validity in international law.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that treating the settlements as illegal "hasn't worked", the latest in a series of policy shifts that have delighted Israel's right wing, particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The statement puts the United States at odds with UN Security Council resolutions.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu wrote on Twitter that such declarations "shall have no validity with respect to international law".

"No country is above international law," he said.

Pompeo said the United States would not necessarily consider the settlements legal but instead would defer to the judgment of Israeli courts.

Turkey, a strong advocate of the Palestinian cause, also criticised US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017.