Russia calls for commitment to international rules on Jerusalem

By Emre Gurkan Abay, Ayse Humeyra Atılgan

MOSCOW

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday all nations should be committed to international resolutions to bring an end to the Israel-Palestine issue.

Speaking to journalists in Moscow, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed the humanitarian situation in Gaza was getting worse following the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

She said the best step to bring an end to the crisis was to be committed to international resolutions and be open for dialogue.

Referring to the U.S. veto of a UN Security Council resolution this week that rejected the establishment of diplomatic facilities in the contested city, the spokesperson said the U.S. veto had made things even worse.

The full 193-member UN General Assembly will meet for a rare emergency special session on Trump's Dec. 6 decision. Unlike at the Security Council, the U.S. has no veto power in the assembly.

International law views the West Bank -- including East Jerusalem -- as “occupied territory” and considers all Jewish settlement building on the land to be illegal.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem might eventually serve as the capital of an independent state.