AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Jordan’s King Abdullah II has canceled a visit Monday to Romania to protest its prime minister’s support for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The Royal Hashemite Court said the decision came “in solidarity with Jerusalem.” Abdullah was scheduled to visit Romania later in the day.
On Sunday, Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila told a conference in Washington that her country was moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. She later appeared to backtrack, calling her comments “a personal opinion.”
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, a rival who’s in charge of the East European nation’s foreign policy, said the prime minister hadn’t consulted with him over the decision.
Later Monday, Iohannis accused Dancila of “ruining relations with the region,” saying the good ties Romania had with Arab countries were one of the “few constants of Romania’s foreign policy.”
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as their capital. Jordan is the custodian of Muslim holy sites in east Jerusalem’s Old City.
President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moved the U.S. Embassy there last year. That decision was welcomed by Israel but infuriated the Palestinians, who severed ties with the White House.
Nearly all countries maintain their embassies in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
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