A Russian government statement stressing Moscow’s commitment to the two-state solution for the Palestinians and Israelis raised eyebrows by men­tioning the possible recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“Moscow reaffirms its support for the two-state solution as an optimal option that meets the na­tional interests of the Palestinian and Israeli people, both of whom have friendly relations with Russia, and the interests of all other coun­tries in the region and the interna­tional community as a whole,” said a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 6.

“We reaffirm our commitment to the UN-approved principles for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, which include the status of East Je­rusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. At the same time, we must state that in this context we view West Jerusalem as the cap­ital of Israel,” the statement added.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokes­man Emmanuel Nahshon said Isra­el was “studying” the Russia state­ment, which appears to have taken Israeli media by surprise.

“No other country in the world recognises any part of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” wrote the Jeru­salem Post, noting: “This is a sharp shift in Russian policy, which until now has formally held that Jerusa­lem should eventually be under a permanent international regime.”

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