Moving embassy to Jerusalem 'not constructive': US

Kirby made the remarks speaking during a press conference on Wednesday when asked about a legislation introduced by three senators that would require the movement of the US embassy currently in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and require the US administration to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

He provided assurance that the current administration will oppose the legislation.

'It’s our policy and it’s been – and it was policy of previous administrations as well – that moving the embassy to Jerusalem is not a good idea. It’s not constructive to the overall peace process. It could actually put some of our people, some of our troops, those that work at the embassy, in harm’s way, and needlessly so. So we don’t support that move. We stand by the policy that we’ve been supporting now.'

'If the next administration wants to move forward, that’s certainly their prerogative, but under President Obama – and he’s still President of the United States – we don’t support that,' Kirby said.

He believed that a move like that could exacerbate tensions not just there but elsewhere in the region too.

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