CAIRO: US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Israel’s claim to sovereignty over the Golan Heights triggered reactions from several countries on Tuesday including warnings of a negative impact on regional stability.
Russia said the move is certain to have “negative consequences” in the region, particularly in relation to the Syrian conflict.
The decision was “yet another step by Washington in violation of international law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments carried by state news agency TASS.
This “will definitely have negative consequences regarding both the Middle East peace process and the overall atmosphere for political resolution in Syria,” Peskov added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was expected to discuss the issue at a meeting with his Lebanese counterpart, Michael Aoun, in Moscow last night.
Aoun, meanwhile, called Trump’s decision a “black day for the world,” according to Lebanon’s state news agency NNA.
Gulf countries too condemned Trump’s decision. Saudi Arabia called the move a “clear violation” of the United Nations charter and relevant resolutions.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has expressed its firm rejection and condemnation of the declaration issued by the American administration to recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights,” said a statement carried by the SPA state news agency.
The kingdom warned in the statement that the US step would have “major negative effects” on Middle East peace-making efforts.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) voiced “extreme regret and denunciation” of the decision, according to the country’s official news agency WAM.
“This step wrecks chances for reaching a comprehensive and fair peace in the region,” the UAE Foreign Ministry added in a statement.
Bahrain and Kuwait also criticised in separate official statements the move.
A series of rallies protesting Trump’s decision were meanwhile held in several Syrian government-controlled provinces including the capital Damascus, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.
On Monday, Trump signed a proclamation recognising Israel’s claim to sovereignty over the Golan Heights in a ceremony at the White House attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The move follows Trump’s shift last year of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, sparking anger in the Muslim world.
Israel seized the strategic Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Israel annexed the territory in 1981, though this move has not been recognised internationally. — dpa
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