Azerbaijan agrees with Palestine and condemns the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem

Baku / 19.05.18 / Turan: Azerbaijan condemns the bloodshed in Gaza and the transfer of the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. This was the keynote speech of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on May 18 at the extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.

Referring to the recent clashes in Gaza, Mammadyarov called "unacceptable" the killing of more than 60 Palestinians and the wounding of 2,000 people.

"We, the OIC member countries, should do more to stop and condemn this bloodshed," he said.

Azerbaijan, the minister continued, is ready to contribute to a just solution of the Palestinian question. "We once again express our solidarity and support for a just and comprehensive resolution of the Palestinian question. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict must be resolved peacefully on the basis of the "two-state principle", with the recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine," Mammadyarov continued.

At the same time, he stressed that "the recognition by the President of the United States of Jerusalem of the capital of Israel and the transfer of the US embassy to this city is contrary to international law. "This step, undertaken in spite of numerous warnings, broke hopes for a just and sustainable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and opened the way to a humanitarian disaster," Mammadyarov said.

In his speech, he also expressed gratitude to the member states of OIC for their support to Azerbaijan in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

It is noteworthy that almost simultaneously with the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, the delegation of Azerbaijan headed by the Minister of Taxes Mikayil Jabbarov participated in this city at the first meeting of the intergovernmental Azerbaijani-Israeli commission for bilateral cooperation. -06B-