US Golan Heights Remarks May Derail Arab-Israeli Peace Deal - Russia's Bogdanov

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights territory could undermine prospects for securing a peace deal between Israel and the Arab world.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd March, 2019) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the middle East Mikhail Bogdanov said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights territory could undermine prospects for securing a peace deal between Israel and the Arab world.

On Thursday, Trump said in a statement that it was time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, overturning over 50 years of US policy toward the region, which supported the UN Security Council Resolution 497 that unanimously recognized that the territory belonged to Syria. Trump's remarks were condemned by a number of countries, including Iran, Turkey, Syria and Russia.

"[Trump's statement] undermines prospects of peaceful negotiations based on the land-for-peace deal [concept] and the Arab Peace Initiative, not to mention resolutions that qualify [Israel's] laws on the annexation of eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as null, illegitimate and in contradiction of international law," Bogdanov said in response to reports that the United States is currently preparing a document that will formally recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

The Golan Heights was seized by Israel from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967. In 2018, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution urging Israel to immediately withdraw its forces from the Golan Heights after Tel Aviv organized local elections in the area on October 30.