Moscow Condemns US Change of Policy on Israeli Settlements

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that a US decision to effectively back Israel’s “right to build settlements” in the occupied West Bank undermined the legal basis for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday abandoned Washington’s four-decade-old position that such settlements were “inconsistent with international law.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the change of policy in a statement on Tuesday, warning the move would escalate tensions in the region, Reuters reported.

Moscow’s stance is that such settlements on Palestinian territory are illegal under international law, it said.