Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday the rainbow of colors adorning the United Nations in New York City are promoting the LGBT community.
The world leader felt “uncomfortable” with the “LGBT colors” which are laid out across the ceilings of the United Nations headquarters in New York City, Reuters reported. Erdogan hoped to discuss the issue with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the outlet noted.
FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement during the opening of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit 2023, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 18, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
Erdogan confused the colors in the UN with the #LGBT flag
“One of the problems that bothers me the most is that when you enter the UN General Assembly, you see the LGBT colors on the steps and elsewhere,” the Turkish president complained. Earlier, he called LGBT community… pic.twitter.com/8dQOywAsyL
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 22, 2023
“One of the issues that bothers me the most … is that when entering the United Nations General Assembly, you see the LGBT colors on steps and other places,” Erdogan told Turkish media broadcaster Haberturk. (RELATED: Almost No Major World Leaders Showed Up For Biden’s UN General Assembly Speech)
U.N. diplomats maintained that Erdogan mixed up the meaning of the 17 different colors with the colors attributed to the summit’s Sustainable Development Goals, Reuters reported.
Erdogan complained about the use of what he described as “LGBT colors” at the United Nations, which is decorated this week with bright colors promoting the Sustainable Development Goals.
“As you enter the United Nations General Assembly, you see LGBT colors on the steps and some… pic.twitter.com/gTp5wZMttM
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) September 22, 2023
Each color represents 17 different goals globally – which were all adopted in 2015 with a goal to be completed by 2030 – which include exterminating world hunger, “extreme poverty, battling climate change and inequality and promoting gender equality.”