- 27 Mar 2019 16:30
#14996111
It seems like it's way worse.
Netanyahu Says Golan Heights Move ‘Proves You Can’ Keep Occupied Territory
US will 'never recognise Russia's annexation of Crimea'
Netanyahu Says Golan Heights Move ‘Proves You Can’ Keep Occupied Territory
JERUSALEM — For decades, international law has held that territory seized in war must be returned. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel asserted Tuesday that this was no longer a given.
He made the argument after President Trump recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, but his remarks, two weeks before a tight Israeli election, were taken to refer to the West Bank as well.
“There is a very important principle in international life,” Mr. Netanyahu said late Monday after attending the Golan signing ceremony at the White House. “When you start wars of aggression, you lose territory, do not come and claim it afterwards. It belongs to us.”
And moments before landing at Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday, he emphasized the point, telling reporters, “Everyone says you can’t hold an occupied territory, but this proves you can. If occupied in a defensive war, then it’s ours.”
But Israeli sovereignty of the Golan remains a minority view. The United Nations secretary general and many countries in the region, from allies like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to adversaries, like Iran and Syria, which claims the Golan, have condemned the American move.
US will 'never recognise Russia's annexation of Crimea'
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says " Russia has acted in a manner unworthy of a great nation" by annexing Crimea.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the United States will "never recognise Russia's annexation of Crimea" and that the US "will continue to insist that Ukraine's territorial integrity be restored."
Pompeo said in a statement made on Wednesday that the US "upholds its commitment to the international principle of sovereign equality."
"Russia, through its 2014 invasion of Ukraine and its attempted annexation of Crimea, sought to undermine a bedrock international principle shared by democratic states: that no country can change the borders of another by force," the statement by Pompeo read.
"The states of the world, including Russia, agreed to this principle in the United Nations Charter, pledging to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state," it continued.