Emulating U.S., Romania to move embassy to Jerusalem: reports

CAIRO – 22 May 2018: Romania reportedly notified the Israeli government that it will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem following the recent United States embassy move, which which caused much anger throughout the Arab world.

According to Tel Aviv-based Yedioth Ahronoth, the inauguration of Romania’s embassy in Jerusalem will take place in June in the presence of Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, who said earlier that there are security risks to the move.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila submitted a draft resolution in April to move the state’s embassy to Jerusalem. President Klaus Iohannis opposed the government’s plan to relocate the Romanian embassy, saying that the move could only take place following a regional peace process.



Amid the subsequent political rift, Iohannis said that Dancila did not consult him over the embassy relocation plan and therefore he called on the newly appointed PM to resign, saying that she is unsuitable for the post. Iohannis does not have the authority to fire the PM.

On May 14, the U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem in an opening ceremony, officially recognizing the city as the capital of Israel. Romania was among a few European Union (EU) countries that participated in the ceremony.

On Monday, more than 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire during Palestinian protests against the move.

Only two days after the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Guatemala moved its embassy to Jerusalem. Paraguay also opened its embassy in a West Jerusalem building on Monday in the presence of the country’s president.


FILE – A number of 128 countries voted in favor of a resolution calling for the United States to reverse its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, during a United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) rare emergency special session held on December 21, 2017

Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to move the state’s embassy to Jerusalem, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly agreed to hold a rare emergency special session in December at the request of Arab and Muslim countries.

The UNGA met to vote on a resolution calling on the U.S. to drop its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. A day before the vote, Trump threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that vote in favor of the draft resolution.

"They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we're watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care," Trump told reporters at the White House.

However, 128 countries voted for the resolution, while nine countries voted against, 35 abstained and 21 did not cast a vote.

Guatemala, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo voted against the resolution, while Paraguay, Romania and Hungary abstained from voting.