The visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the occupied Golan Heights shows Washington's contemptuous attitude to international law, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said.
Last week, Pompeo arrived in Israel on a visit. American media wrote about his intention to visit, including the Golan Heights, but the US State Department refused to confirm or deny this information. Then, on Thursday morning, Pompeo himself announced his intention to visit the Golan Heights. Later, the Israeli state television channel "Kan" reported that Pompeo visited the Golan Heights.
"We regard this as yet another evidence of the blatantly contemptuous attitude of the United States to the universally recognized international legal principles of the Middle East settlement. Attempts by the US administration to give legitimacy to illegal Israeli settlements in this way contradict the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions," Zakharova said at a briefing on Friday.
"We reaffirm Russia's principled position on the illegality of Israeli settlement construction on land seized in 1967. We believe that this practice impedes efforts to restart the negotiation process aimed at establishing a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East region," she added.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from RIA Novosti