The European Union’s foreign policy chief has slammed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, warning the move could take the region “backwards to even darker times.”
Federica Mogherini told a press conference in Brussels of her concerns, coming just days before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets EU representatives for a working breakfast. She said:
President Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem has a very worrying potential impact. It is a very fragile context and the announcement has the potential to send us backwards to even darker times than the ones we’re already living in.
The European Union has a clear and united position. We believe the only realistic solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is based on two states and with Jerusalem as the capital of both.
This is not the first time Mogherini has weighed into the debate over the future of the U.S. Embassy in Israel.
As Breitbart Jerusalem reported, in January she warned that EU embassies will remain in Tel Aviv even if Mr. Trump went ahead with his plan to move U.S diplomats to Jerusalem.
“It is very important for us all to refrain from unilateral actions, especially those that can have serious consequences in large sectors of public opinion in large parts of the world,” Mogherini said. “We hope that there can be reflection on consequences of any move that is taken.”
Elsewhere in Europe, the leaders of France and Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and the Arab League joined Wednesday in expressing their opposition to Mr. Trumps plans.
An official statement from the French government said that President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with President Trump, noting his “concern” over the possibility that the United States will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.
Mr. Macron said that the question of the status of Jerusalem “should be regulated within the framework of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, particularly with a view to the establishment of two states living side by side in peace and security with Jerusalem as capital,” the statement said.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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