Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed, on Monday, that the United States’ recognition of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as Israeli territory is “a violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions.”
Following talks with his visiting Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Putin for the first time commented on US President Trump’s recent decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Putin stressed, “As for recognition of the Golan Heights as a part of Israel, you know Russia’s position on that. It was laid bare in the Russian foreign ministry’s statement.”
He added, “This decision runs counter to the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”
In late March, Trump recognized the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as Israeli territory, causing international opposition and leading to speculation that it could pave the way for the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed the territory in 1981.
In addition, an estimate of 20,000 Israeli settlers live in over 30 illegal Israeli settlements across the Golan Heights, alongside some 25,000 Druze, who did not flee when the territory was captured by Israel.
