Embassy move a sovereign affair, says Guatemala
Guatemala City, Dec. 27: Guatemala has said its decision to follow the US in moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem was a “sovereign” matter that should not affect ties with other countries.
“These are Guatemala’s foreign policy and sovereign decisions,” foreign minister Sandra Jovel told a news conference on Tuesday.
“In any case, we are open to being able to converse with countries that see it as such, but I don’t believe it will create any sort of problem with other countries,” she said.
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced that he was ordering his country’s embassy to move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, despite a UN vote last week condemning US President Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally view the holy city as Israel’s capital.
The announcement made Guatemala the first country to follow the United States in saying it was moving its embassy.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians.
Israel consider Jerusalem as the capital of future state.
A UN General Assembly vote on Thursday rejected any attempt to unilaterally define Jerusalem’s status. A total of 128 nations voted to maintain the international consensus that Jerusalem’s status can only be decided through peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. east occupied their