A formal US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would cause a "major catastrophe" and lead to a new conflict in the Middle East, Turkey warned last night.

The warning came as Donald Trump, the US president, was poised to make a key decision this week on whether to recognise the city as Israel's capital.

Bekir Bozdag, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, said Jerusalem's status had been determined by international agreements.

He added: "It is important to preserve Jerusalem's status for the sake of protecting peace in the region. If another step is taken and this step is lifted, this will be a major catastrophe.

"It would completely destroy the fragile peace process in the region and lead to new conflicts, new disputes and new unrest. It would drag the region into a new disaster."

French President Emmanuel Macron "expressed his concern over the possibility that the United States would unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel" during a phone call with Trump on Monday, Mr Macron's office said after the two leaders spoke by telephone.

And in an unusually detailed statement published by Jordan's official news agency Petra, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi was quoted as having warned US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson against the move in a call on Sunday.