Israel and Kyiv in talks on transferring Ukrainian the Embassy to Jerusalem
Israel has suggested to the Ukrainian government that the Embassy of Ukraine be transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,stated the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Minister of Environmental Protection, Ze'ev Elkin in an interview with LB.ua.
“One of the important topics raised at my meeting with the President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and also at an earlier meeting of our Prime Minister with Pavlo Klimkin during his visit to Israel this year was the issue of transferring the Ukrainian Embassy to Jerusalem. In my opinion, it is an important step,” Elkin said.
He referred to a number of eastern European countries that have considered a similar move, such as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania. The Minister expressed his confidence that such a step “would be welcomed in the USA as well.”
“Because the transferring of the Embassy was a personal decision of the US President, he is very proud of it, and if Ukraine was one of the countries that took this path, I am sure that it would be welcomed,” Elkin said. For their part, Israeli leadership made a decision to provide “any organization and comprehensive assistance to those first countries that transfer their Embassies to Jerusalem.”
“That is why I hope that Ukraine will make the right decision and transfer its Embassy to Jerusalem as soon as possible,” Elkin said.
Responding to a question about the response of the Ukrainian officials, the Israeli Minister said that he will not disclose the contents of the meeting on this subject. “We hold working discussions. No, I don’t think it is an impossible scenario,” he added.
The USA opened its Embassy in Jerusalem, on May 14, triggering protests. About thirty-five thousand Palestinians of Gaza, according to the Israeli Defense Army, gathered on the border with Israel and threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli citizens and set fire to tires. As a result of clashes with the Israeli army, 41 Palestinians were killed and 1,300 were injured.
Israel has always considered the whole Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians consider Eastern Jerusalem the capital of the future Palestinian State. The status of Jerusalem has been considered one of the last large problems that should be resolved in concluding any enduring Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.