New Delhi, Dec 22: India was among the 128 countries that voted in the United Nations General Assembly in favour of opposing the United States move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. 9 countries voted in opposition and 35 countries abstained from voting. India’s move came a day after US President Donald Trump warned countries who would choose the vote in favour of the resolution.
External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at the NAM ministerial meeting on Palestine that the path to Israel-Jerusalem peace paves the path for a negotiated solution between Israel and Palestine.
The UN General Assembly resolution was moved by Turkey and Yemen– it had said that the issue of Jerusalem should be resolved through negotiations only.
US ally Britain was also on the list of countries favouring the resolution which demanded that President Donald Trump must withdraw his decision. Nikki Hayley, the US ambassador to the UN, had warned that she would be “taking names” if rival nations called for vote on the matter. Donald Trump had threatened to stop giving financial aid to countries who defied him in this matter. Apart from the United States and Israel, seven countries that opposed the resolution were: Guatemala and Honduras in Central America and the Pacific nations of Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo.
“The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly. We will remember it when we are called upon to, once again, make the world’s largest contribution to the United Nations,” Haley told the General Assembly.
“America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. That is what the American people want us to do, and it is the right thing to do. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that. But this vote will make a difference in how Americans view the UN,” she added.
