Middle East

Russia Alarmed by Trump’s Decision

09/12/2017

How Trump’s Jerusalem move plays into Moscow’s hands

Published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta

The decision by US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has damaged Washington’s image in the Arab world, as evidenced by the current backlash from Muslim countries. Experts interviewed by Nezavisimaya Gazeta believe that the US new position on the city’s status might enable Russia to bring some Middle Eastern countries towards Moscow’s orbit.
Russia shares the opinion of the Arab world about the consequences of the White House’s initiative. “We believe that now all efforts should be made to resume the negotiation process, we believe that there is an internationally recognized base for this,” Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said. “We would be ready to continue our joint efforts with other players directly involved in the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including those within the framework of the Middle East Quartet,” he added.

Russia disagrees with US stance on Jerusalem, says diplomat

The issue on the status of Jerusalem should be tackled within the framework of the Palestinian-Israeli dialogue, a Russian diplomat noted earlier

MOSCOW, December 7./TASS/. Russia does not agree with the US position to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told TASS on Thursday.
“We don’t agree with this,” he stressed.
According to Gatilov, this decision by the US “will worsen a general situation in Palestinian-Israeli relations, in the Middle East on the whole”.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed “serious concern” over U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, calling it a change in policy that risked destabilizing the Middle East.
Trump on Wednesday delivered on a campaign pledge to officially acknowledge Jerusalem as the Isreali capital. The U.S. State Department, he added, would move the U.S. consulate from Tel Aviv to the holy city.
The move was met with criticism from world leaders who say the decision may spark an uptick in violence across the region. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called Putin several days before Trump’s announcement, the Kremlin said.