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Israeli envoy welcomes Moscow’s stance of possible relocation of Russian embassy

Donald Trump said on Wednesday time had come to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state

MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. Israeli Ambassador to Russia, Gary Koren, has welcomed Moscow’s stance on a possible relocation of the Russian embassy in Israel to West Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in case all the problems related to the status of the Palestinian territories are settled.

"God grant this happens," he said on Thursday when TASS asked him to comment on the words of the Russian Ambassador to Israel, Alexander Shein, who said the Russian embassy could be moved to Jerusalem after the problem of the city’s status was settled.

"Russia has very strong presence in Israel, including Jerusalem," Koren said. "It has real estate there, for instance, the St Sergius’s mission."

"Our ties have been flourishing in recent years and the numbers of tourists and pilgrims are growing," Koren said. "We hail the fact."

Earlier on Thursday, Ambassador Shein said that, on the practical plane, the Russian embassy could be moved to West Jerusalem from Tel Aviv after final settlement of all the problems around the status of Palestinian territories.

He stressed along with it Russia’s hope that Israel and the Palestinians would resolve the problem of Jerusalem’s status at bilateral talks, adding that Moscow was not going to impose any decisions on the parties concerned.

Donald Trump said on Wednesday time had come to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state. He instructed the Department of State to begin preparations for the relocation of the American embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the key problems of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israeli forces occupied the eastern part of the city in the course of the Six-Day War in 1967.

Israel insists on Jerusalem being its only and indivisible capital. Palestinians, in their turn, seek to make East Jerusalem the capital of their independent state.