MOSCOW. Dec 14 (Interfax) - The Morocco-Israel normalization agreement announced by United States President Donald Trump is welcome, but it is a unilateral move which undermines regional stability, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"We welcome the agreement reached on an understanding that it would facilitate further fair resolution of the Palestinian problem and make healthier the general situation in the Middle Eastern region," the ministry said in a press statement on its website on Saturday.
However, "effectively by tying to this event, Washington took another unilateral step which threatens regional stability, namely: the U.S. recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the whole of Western Sahara and intention to open a U.S. Embassy there.
"Through this decision, the Trump administration has undermined the generally-recognized international-law basis of the Western Sahara peace process, which envisages determination of a final status of this territory through a referendum. This new U.S. position could seriously thwart UN efforts to advance the Western Sahara peace process, strain the relations between the parties directly involved, and provoke a new wave of armed violence in the Sahara-Sahel Zone.
"Our principled line in regard to the Western Sahara problem is invariable. We believe that its long-term and fair resolution is only possible on the basis of implementing UN Security Council resolutions in accordance with procedures consistent with the principles and goals of the UN Charter. The path to this lies through resumption of the UN-brokered direct talks between Morocco and the Polisario Front."
On December 10, Trump announced the reaching of a normalization deal between the Kingdom of Morocco and Israel with U.S. mediation. In a telephone call on that day between Moroccan King Mohammed VI and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Rabat expressed firm support for a comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in accordance with international law.