Russia: We won't move embassy to Jerusalem

Vladimir Putin, Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu (2019-02-02) 03
(Image by (From Wikimedia) The Presidential Press and Information Office, Author: The Presidential Press and Information Office)   Details   Source   DMCA

The Russian government will not be moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Russia’s ambassador said, despite signals from Moscow that Russia has shifted its stance on the Israeli capital. In 2017, Russia’s foreign ministry explicitly recognized the western portion of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. Hitherto, Russia had not recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state, and like most countries, maintained an embassy in the coastal city of Tel Aviv. Last year, following the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, Russia’s mission to Israel held its annual “National Day” celebration in Jerusalem, rather than in Tel Aviv for the first time. Despite these moves, however, on Thursday, Russian ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov told the Russian TASS outlet that his government would not be relocating its embassy to Jerusalem.