New Delhi, Jan. 15 (TNS): India’s recent vote at the United Nations General Assembly, opposing U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, did not dent ties as bilateral ties are “much larger” than one issue, the External Affairs Ministry said on Monday.
Speaking to presspersons, Vijay Gokhale, Secretary in charge of Economic Relations in the Ministry, said that both sides viewed ties “holistically” even as they sought an early resumption of peace talks between Israel and Palestinians.
“Our side expressed our position on both the status of Jerusalem and Palestine. Both sides agreed that our relationship is much larger and our relationship is not determined by this [vote],” Mr. Gokhale said.
The Palestine issue was discussed between the delegations led by Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Netanyahu, and sources said that the Israelis were aware that Mr. Modi was likely to visit the West Asian region soon, which may include a trip to the Palestinian capital of Ramallah.
Both sides also discussed possibilities of resuming the stalled peace talks between the Israeli and Palestinian sides.
“The two Prime Ministers discussed the developments pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. They reaffirmed their support for an early resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians for arriving at a comprehensive negotiated solution on all outstanding issues, based on mutual recognition and effective security arrangements, for establishing a just and durable peace in the region,” a joint statement by both sides issued after the bilateral meeting mentioned.
