In Talk With Putin, Netanyahu Protests Russia’s Support for anti-Israel UNESCO Resolution

A senior Russian diplomat visiting Israel is critical of Jerusalem’s ‘over the top’ response to the resolution, which disregards Judaism’s connection to the Temple Mount.

By Barak Ravid, HAARETZ,    Oct 31, 2016 7:05 AM

Putin and Netanyahu at a concert, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, June 7, 2016. Sputnik, Reuters

Senior Israeli officials said the issue of Russia’s vote at the Executive Board meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization was raised in an October 21 telephone conversation between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin and at a meeting of senior Israeli and Russian officials at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on October 27.

The Israeli sources, who asked to remain anonymous, said Netanyahu told Putin he was disappointed by Russia’s action. The prime minister said the resolution was an attempt to rewrite history and to erase Judaism’s connection to its holy sites in Jerusalem, and urged Putin to consider not supporting similar resolutions in the future.

On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov visited Israel and met with senior Foreign Ministry officials. A senior Israeli official said that Russia’s votes in UNESCO and other UN institutions was a major topic.

The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, said he and his colleagues expressed their disappointment with Moscow’s vote in UNESCO.

“We stressed that we expect a significant improvement in Russia’s UN votes related to Israel, as befits the improvement in relations between the two countries,”

Foreign Ministry officials also spoke with Gatilov about the main diplomatic issue currently preoccupying Israel — the possibility of a UN Security Council vote on a resolution concerning the Israeli-Palestinian issue during the period between the U.S. presidential election on November 8 and the inauguration of the new president on January 20. Russia, which is a permanent member of the Security Council as well as a member of the Middle East Quartet (whose other members are the United States, the United Nations and the European Union), will be key to any Security Council decision on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

“We made it clear that we oppose any outside involvement in the peace process, and especially by the Security Council,” the senior Israeli official said.

But Israel’s protest over the UNESCO vote evidently made little impression on Gatilov. In a briefing for the Russian media at the end of his visit to Jerusalem, he sounded rather contemptuous of the messages he heard from Israel.

“We felt that the Israelis’ emotions were a little bit over the top in this issue … and not entirely justified,” he said.
Gatilov added that he had urged his Israeli colleagues to take a “constructive attitude” toward the vote.
“I explained my approach to Israeli colleagues on this issue and called for further constructive attitude to the decision of UNESCO,” he said. “I told them that the text of the resolutions referred to the ownership of the holy sites by all three religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”

The problem of the UNESCO resolutions must be resolved “to the satisfaction of all parties,” he continued, but it is impossible “to do overnight.”

“Here you need to think about how to reach a solution that would be acceptable to all,” Gatilov added. “We hope that in the future when this issue will be raised at UNESCO, it will find here a more creative solution.”

Gatilov also said in his briefing that talks between Russia, Israel and the Palestinians are continuing in an effort to arrange a summit in Moscow between Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Both sides have expressed willingness in principle to hold the meeting, he said, but Russia isn’t interested in forcing them to do so; rather, it wants to find the most suitable moment for such a meeting.

Regarding Israel’s concerns over a possible Security Council resolution, Gatilov told the Russian media that the Israelis “are very alarmed and do not want the Israeli-Palestine conflict internationalized.”

Any “Security Council-level” actions must be cautious enough not to “undermine the possibility of a revival in bilateral talks,” the Russian diplomat added.

“There’s an idea on a [UN] resolution on the settlements,” he continued. “There’s an initiative and a League of Arab States decision on this matter. In fact, not all Arab states unanimously support such a resolution; many understand the sensitivity of this matter. Personally, I think that a resolution won’t be approved in a forced manner.”

October 31, 2016 | 19 Comments »

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  2. @ mar55:
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    “Hillary Clinton’s Lesbian Lover Huma”

    https://youtu.be/dkrEIJDJt1s

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    Hillary’s housing plan:
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    https://youtu.be/LZiptY_ezTg

    Hillary’s economic plan:
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  4. @ mar55:
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  15. @ honeybee:
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    MUST SEE!  This is making political satire GREAT!   Hillaryous ! 
     
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