Despite recent reports, the Czech Republic will not break with European Union policy on the status of Jerusalem and will not relocate its embassy there from Tel Aviv, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said Friday.
According to Radio Prague, Babis said his country was looking into the possibility of relocating its cultural center from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem instead, or perhaps opening an honorary consulate in the city.
In December, Czech President Milo Zeman welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and his decision to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.
Zeman vowed that the Czech Embassy in Israel would follow suit.
However, the Czech Foreign Ministry said at the time that Prague only recognizes West Jerusalem as Israel's capital and that the embassy will move "in accordance with negotiations" between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The Czech decision is believed to have followed significant pressure by EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, as well as by France and Germany.
The European Union maintains that all member states must uphold its policy on Jerusalem, namely that the city's final status must be decided only as part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The Palestinians, who envision parts of Jerusalem as their future capital, were enraged by the American decision to recognize the city as Israel's capital.
The statement by the Czech prime minister joins one made by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who on Friday said he opposed his government's intentions to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Iohannis said Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila had not consulted him before announcing the plan, saying that such a move could only take place once the Israeli-Palestinian peace process concludes.
Iohannis urged his government to "act responsibly and demonstrate the understanding of the nuances of foreign policymaking, which could have strategic effects on national security."
The Romanian president's office stressed that the question of Jerusalem's status was "a sensitive issue" that must be addressed with care so as not to spark diplomatic or legal complications.
"The president reminds [the government] that there are several United Nations Security Council resolutions on the matter that, among other things, call on U.N. member states to refrain from establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem, therefore relocating the embassy would be in violation of the relevant international law," the office said.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said the Foreign Ministry was "waiting for a clear decision on the matter from the Romanians."
