They stressed that the annexation of the Palestinian territories was not the main theme of the meetings.
Discussion of the issue of the annexation of Palestinian territories by the Jewish State in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley was not the purpose of the visit of US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to Israel. This was stated on Wednesday at a briefing for journalists by a high-ranking State Department representative.
“I think we should dispel the notion that we flew halfway around the world to talk about the annexation. These reports were incorrect,” he said, referring to publications in several media outlets. “That was not the purpose of the trip”, – the American diplomat added.
“It wasn’t the main topic”, – said another U.S. foreign policy representative.
On Wednesday, Pompeo visited Israel. It was his first foreign trip in almost two months. The secretary of state held separate meetings in Jerusalem with the Prime Minister, the leader of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of the Cahol Lavan party Beni Ganz, as well as the former head of the General Staff of the Israeli army, Gabi Ashkenazi, who will become Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new government of Israel on May 14.
Earlier, The Jerusalem Post claimed that one of the main topics of the Pompeo talks in Israel will be steps to implement the peace plan of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to which Israel plans to annex territories in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
Plans for the annexation
It is about implementing the alleged plans of the new coalition government of Israel. Earlier Trump and Netanyahu announced in Washington the key provisions of the American program for peaceful Palestinian-Israeli settlement, stating, in particular, the U.S. authorities’ intention to recognize the Jewish settlements as Israeli territory. On April 22 Pompeo said that the final decision on this issue remains with Israel.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the implementation of the alleged plans of the new Israeli government to annex a number of territories in the West Bank will undermine the Middle East settlement process. She stressed that Russia considers it necessary to adhere to the international legal framework for settlement, including resolutions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.