Russia regrets Trump's decision on Golan Heights

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia warned on Tuesday that a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Israel's control over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights would have negative consequences for stability in the Middle East.

"Such a decision clearly has negative consequences both from the point of view of the Middle East settlement process and from the point of view of the general atmosphere in the political settlement in Syria. No one doubts that," said Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskova told reporters.

He expressed regret for the move, saying that it constituted "one more step done by Washington in clear violation of international law."

On Monday, Trump signed a presidential proclamation officially recognizing the Golan Heights as an Israeli territory.

The UN said the Golan’s legal status would remain unchanged -- despite Trump’s announcement -- and would still be considered an “occupied territory” under international law.

Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

The self-proclaimed Jewish state continues to occupy roughly two-thirds of the wider Golan Heights region as a direct result of the conflict.

In 1981, Israel formally annexed the territory in a move unanimously rejected at the time by the UN Security Council.