Russia does not share Erdogan’s stance on Israel, says Kremlin

MOSCOW - 13 December 2017: The Kremlin is aware of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s stance on Israel but does not share it, Tass quoted Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Wednesday.

When commenting on Erdogan’s statement, in which he called Israel a terrorist state and suggested that East Jerusalem should be declared the capital of Palestine, Peskov said that "we know what the position of the Turkish president is."

"We are aware of it but it is not in line with our position. Russia’s position on Jerusalem and the Middle Eastern settlement is well known," he added.

At the same time, Peskov declined to answer the question as to how Erdogan’s view could affect efforts to resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict. "I have nothing more to say," he noted.

On Wednesday, while addressing a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Israel was an occupying and a terrorist state.

On December 6, US President Donald Trump said that "it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel." He added that his administration would begin a process of moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.