CAIRO, Dec 9 (KUNA) -- Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah deplored on Saturday the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel and move its embassy to the holy city.
In his address to the emergency meeting of the Arab League Ministerial Council, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, who leads Kuwaiti delegation to the meeting, called on the United States to back down on the recent "regrettable and unhelpful step," and restore its role as impartial mediator and sponsor in the Middle East peace process.
A year back, the Middle East was remarkably upbeat with the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 on December 23, 2016, and an international consensus on prioritization of the peace process, he recalled.
In early 2017, the ministerial Middle East Peace Conference, hosted by Paris, reaffirmed support for a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Optimism grew further last May when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted the GCC-US Summit with both sides agreeing to work together for advancing the peace process," Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled noted.
"However, this process degenerated remarkably due to the recent deplorable unilateral move by the US which contravenes all UN resolutions relating to the legal, political and historical status quo of Jerusalem," he said, citing the UNSC resolutions 242, 267, 465, 476, 478 and 2334.
"The discussions at the last night session of the UNSC signal profound concern of the international community over the unhelpful move of the US," he pointed out.
"While calling on the US to back down on its decision and resume its role as impartial mediator and sponsor of the peace process, we call on the Arab states to adopt a single stance against the US move.
"We call for activation of the resolution of the 28th Arab summit, hosted by Jordan in last March, on the protection of the legal, political and historical status quo in Jerusalem," he stressed.
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled reaffirmed Kuwait's support to "the brothers in Palestine," and commitment to all resolutions and measures to be adopted by today's extraordinary ministerial meeting.
He thanked Palestine and the Kingdom of Jordan for calling this meeting and the foreign ministers of the Arab League member countries for their prompt response. (pickup previous) ms.rg.gb