The Washington Post passed on a thinly sourced, unproven allegation about Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh before the New York Times published it in a misleading article in Sunday's paper that has since been corrected.

The Post "last year confirmed that two intermediaries" had passed along Stier's claim "to lawmakers and the FBI" but "did not publish a story in part because the intermediaries declined to identify the alleged witness [Stier] and because the woman who was said to be involved declined to comment," the Post's article said.

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Putin introduced a particular line from the Muslim holy book, known as the Surah al-Imran.

"And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers," the Russian president quoted.

Putin also referenced another Koranic teaching, about how violence is only legitimate in self-defense, to semi-jokingly suggest that Saudi Arabia should buy Russian air defense systems, as Iran and Turkey have already done.

"Saudi Arabia needs to make a smart decision, as Iran did by buying our S-300, and as Mr. Erdogan did by deciding to buy the most advanced S-400 Triumph air defense systems from Russia. These kinds of systems are capable of defending any kind of infrastructure in Saudi Arabia from any kind of attack."

Cavusoglu criticised what he felt was the weak reaction by other Muslim nations. "If the whole Muslim community had reacted together, the reckless plans, policies and behaviour of the United States and Israel would never have reached this point," the foreign minister said.

Cavusoglu's remarks echoed comments he made last week, in which he accused the Israeli prime minister of giving "illegal, unlawful and aggressive" pledges ahead of the 17 September elections, and promised that Turkey would "defend the rights and interests of our Palestinian brothers and sisters till the end."

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned, meanwhile, that Netanyahu's pledge could "push the whole region toward violence."

Saudi Arabia similarly condemned the plans, saying Netanyahu's remarks were "a very dangerous escalation against the Palestinian people."

Iran, meanwhile, accused Netanyahu of engaging in populism in a bid to "get votes and stay in power."

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