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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister: "Irrational" Not to Recognize West Jerusalem as Israel's Capital
(i24News) Eylon Levy - It would have been "irrational" for Russia not to have recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, President Vladimir Putin's Middle East envoy, told i24News in an interview. Bogdanov argued that it would be "logical" for other countries that recognize a Palestinian state with a capital in east Jerusalem to recognize Israeli sovereignty in west Jerusalem. Russia, he noted, had recognized a Palestinian state with a capital in east Jerusalem in 1988. But he explained that Russia would not move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem until it could also move its mission in Ramallah to the eastern part of Jerusalem. Bogdanov stressed that Russia believes the future of Jerusalem "should be determined in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations."