Foreign Minister Taro Kono has told Israeli and Palestinian leaders that the status of Jerusalem should be settled through negotiations between the parties concerned, after U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial decision to recognize the city as Israel's capital.
Kono, who is on a tour of the Middle East, discussed the issue in respective meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who doubles as foreign minister, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"I strongly feel there remains a lot of things that Japan should do and can do," Kono told reporters after the meetings. He became the first foreign minister from a major country to visit Jerusalem following Trump's Dec. 6 announcement, in which he also vowed to transfer the U.S. Embassy to the city from Tel Aviv.