Theresa May and Donald Trump phone call: PM to reiterate disagreement over Jerusalem decision

Theresa May: The PM spoke to Donald Trump from Downing Street today
AP
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Theresa May was expected to raise concerns about Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital during a phone call with the US President, her official spokesman said.

The Prime Minister was speaking with Mr Trump from Downing Street on Tuesday afternoon, and was to restate her disagreement with his decision to move the US embassy to the holy city.

It comes after Britain joined 13 other members of the United Nations Security Council in backing a resolution, which rejected the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This was vetoed by the US.

Mrs May claimed earlier this month that the US leader’s decision was “unhelpful” for peace in the war-torn region.

Mrs May said at Prime Minister's Questions that day that she intended to talk to Mr Trump about the matter but this is the first time they have spoken.

It is also the first time the pair have talked since their extraordinary transatlantic row over Mr Trump's sharing of inflammatory anti-Muslim videos posted by the far-right Britain First group's deputy leader, Jayda Fransen.

Donald Trump speaks at the White House
AP

But the Prime Minister's spokesman said she has "made her views clear" on the president's retweets.

The spokesman said the fact that it took 13 days between Mrs May announcing her intention to speak with Mr Trump and the call actually taking place was a "matter of scheduling" and that the PM "didn't put any timeframe on it".

He added: "The Prime Minister has said many times we have a strong relationship with the United States, we co-operate closely in a number of very important ways, such as terrorism, and we look forward to that continuing."

He went on: "We have a good relationship with the president.

"They spoke regularly over the summer and autumn months and they have met on a number of occasions and I am sure they will continue to do so."

In a White House speech, Mr Trump said his move "marks the beginning of a new approach to conflict between Israel and the Palestinians".

He ordered the start of the multi-year process to relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Today’s developments also came after the US vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution rejecting Mr Trump's decision.

The text put forward by Egypt affirmed that any decisions on the status of Jerusalem had "no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded ". The 14 other members of the council voted in favour of the motion.

The US permanent representative Nikki Haley described it as an "insult" and warned that it would not be forgotten.

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