Why did Trump recognize Jerusalem as Israel capital?

US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel caused a wave of criticism in the international community. In particular, eight countries-members of the UN Security Council will discuss current situation at an emergency meeting, which is scheduled for tomorrow.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Trump's statement, in which he said that he is strong and that's why he can do what he belives is necessary. "Being strong doesn't mean that you are always right. The strong person is the one who does the right thing," Turkish leader said.

The EU leadership was also concerned about Trump's statement.

"The European Union expresses serious concern over the statement of the US President Donald Trump regarding Jerusalem and consequences that it can bring," the head of EU diplomacy Federica Mogerini said. At the same time, she stressed that the EU's position on this issue will remain unchanged.

A senior research fellow at the European Research Centre of the International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Olenchenko, sain in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that this is a very serious statement that can have huge economic and political consequences.

"Right now, the most obvious consequences are aggravation of US relations with the Arab world, since they have completely different opinions on this issue," the expert said.

According to him, "recognition of Jerusalem as Israel capital will negatively affect the interests of American entrepreneurs in the Arab countries."

An associate professor of the Faculty of International Relations of the TOBB University of Economics and Technology (Ankara), Togrul Ismail, said that Trump's statement contradicts existing decisions of the UN, which can cause serious international resonance.

He also added that Trump's decision will be viewed negatively by American congressmen. "This step won't be approved not only by the Islamic world, but also by other countries.This decision is very dangerous, he's playing with fire. I don't think that Americans themselves will like it, since this is a very serious and dangerous step."