Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States of making cynical use of recently-signed agreements with Kosovo and Serbia to advance the Trump Administration’s interests in Israel.
When asked by a reporter about Moscow’s position on Belgrade’s announcement that it will relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Pristina’s normalization of relations with Israel, the top Russian diplomat provided a somewhat ambiguous response.
“As for the supplements to the documents signed in Washington, including those on the Middle East settlement, our position is extremely straightforward. Just like with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (former Yugoslavia resolution) that everyone has the obligation to comply with and implement, we stand for respecting and implementing UN Security Council resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian issue,” said Minister Lavrov.
“Witnessing attempts to raise matters that have nothing to do with the issues in relations between Belgrade and Pristina, definitely leads us to question the sincerity and good will of the mediators,” the Russian diplomat said, underscoring that he had “no doubt that the parties understand all too well the intentions behind these ideas.”
Despite the Kremlin’s suggestion that the historic economic agreement between Serbia and Kosovo stems from an American-orchestrated conspiracy, the White House is evidently resolved to use all the means at its disposal to advance Mideast peace.
“Through the deal, President Trump made additional progress on reaching peace in the Middle East,” insisted White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, explaining that “Kosovo and Israel agreed to mutual recognition and normalization of ties and Serbia committed to moving its embassy to Jerusalem only a few weeks after the historic Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. This is another huge step forward for broader peace in the Middle East and the rest of the world.”
The White House Press Secretary went on to assert that, “President Trump has made peace a cornerstone of his recent foreign policy efforts,” and reiterated the signing of the Israel-UAE agreement will take place during a ceremony in Washington on 15 September.