Luxembourg Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean Asselborn has expressed his disagreement with US President Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral decision announced by the President of the USA on 6 December 2017 is not in line with UN resolutions on Jerusalem. Moreover, Minister Asselborn has highlighted that the status of Jerusalem is not only a complex legal issue, but also has an important political and religious dimension both for Israelis and Palestinians in Arab countries and around the world.

The Minister has recalled that any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be based, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 (1980), on a negotiated comprehensive settlement of the final status of Jerusalem, which respects the rights and aspirations of both groups of people.

In this context, the Minister has reiterated the European Common Position on the question of Jerusalem which has been defined since the declaration of the European Council in Venice on 13 June 1980 in the following terms: "The Nine recognise the particularly important role that the question of Jerusalem applies to all parties involved. The Nines emphasise that they do not accept any unilateral initiative aimed at changing the status of Jerusalem and that any agreement on the status of the city should guarantee the right of free access for all to the holy places.”

According to the EU and UN, the question of the status of Jerusalem will have to be settled in the framework of the peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, aiming at the establishment of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side, in peace and security, inside safe and recognised borders.

Minister Asselborn has joined calls from the international community as well as field actors and officials in the region for calm and restraint to prevent a new outbreak of violence and other actions that might remove the prospect of lasting peace in the Middle East.