Israeli Foreign Ministry Plays Down Russia’s Statement on Palestinian Statehood

Israeli Foreign Ministry officials attempted on Wednesday to play down the importance of Dmitry Medvedev’s reiteration yesterday of the 1988 statement by which Russia recognized Palestine as an independence state with the capital in East Jerusalem.

The Israeli officials said that there was nothing new in the president’s reiteration, since the position of Russia on the matter has been known for decades.

Medvedev made this remark during his visit to Jericho where he met the Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.

As soon as the president made his remark, the Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat reacted profusely to the statement by saying that this was a historic move that would make the Palestinians proud for a long time.

Erekat said his people appreciated the recognition by Russia of the Palestinian state on the borders before 1967, with capital city East Jerusalem.

The Israeli Foreign Minister attempted to play down the statement, while Jerusalem Posts diplomatic correspondent observed that Medvedev did not say anything about 1967 in his statement.

The correspondent refined his explanation by saying that the 1948 Armistice lines have never been seen by Israel as the borders of the state, since Israel needs defendable borders, and the borders in 1967 are not a guarantee for the security of Israel.

The Foreign Minister officials in Israel reaffirmed that the visit of Medvedev only to the PNA is not politically motivated, being in fact a result of the strike at the Israeli ministry, which made it impossible to organize the visit.

Palestinian National Authority has commenced the proceedings to make sure its country’s statehood is recognized by the international community.

So far, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador have recognized the state of Palestine, in a move deemed by the Israelis as “political intifada.”