ForMin Melescanu says he is to consult with US partners on moving embassy to Jerusalem: We must have all data

Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu told DC News on Wednesday that he intends to carry out consultations with US partners regarding the proposal to move Romania's Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the goal being that of making "an informed" decision.

He stated that, with respect to the issue of moving the diplomatic mission, "there are some matters regarding the functionality, a better functioning of embassies that are in Tel Aviv and are commuting daily."

Furthermore, the head of the Romanian diplomacy talked about the context in which the alternative to move the embassy is taken into account. At the end of 2017, US President Donald Trump announced that the US acknowledges Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the US diplomatic mission in Israel will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The UN General Assembly passed on 21 December 2017 a resolution requesting the US to withdraw their decision acknowledging Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel, international news agencies informed.

"Romania observes the General Assembly resolutions, observes the Security Council resolutions and our point of view is that a very quick relaunch of the direct negotiations dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians is needed, and it is also necessary that [negotiations] start from the foundations designed and approved at the UN level, namely the idea of the existence of two states," Melescanu said on this issue.

He stated that, in order to make "an informed" decision, Romania should have "all the data." "We will have to carry out some consultations on this matter with our US partners (...) It is one of the projects that I'm pursuing," he pointed out.

Melescanu also spoke about the pragmatic aspects of this relocation. "From a practical stand, there are many advantages in relocating a diplomatic office in a country whom we have very tight relations with, such as Israel," the Minister stressed.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy also talked about Romania's decision to abstain from voting in the session of the UN General Assembly on the statutes of Jerusalem.

"The decision to express a vote through abstention, to abstain from voting, was exclusively determined by the fact we want Romania to play a role as a mediator. We did not wish to officially take one party's side against the other, on the contrary, to present ourselves as a country that has a great desire and openness to contribute to finding a solution to this conflict," Teodor Melescanu stated. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Mihai Simionescu; EN - author: Rodica State, editor: Simona Iacob)