Some five years after the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem, Russia is set to build a branch office in the capital for its Tel Aviv embassy as part of a secret deal signed between the two countries, Israel Hayom can report after obtaining a copy of the agreement.
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The Jerusalem City Hall, led by Mayor Moshe Lion, has agreed as part of the deal with the Russian Foreign Ministry to settle a long-standing dispute over the area in question. The provisions include a Russian commitment to set up the embassy branch office in the Maalot Parking lot compound in the city center, in exchange for the city pledging to avoid expropriation of the area for the light rail project being built in its vicinity, essentially requiring a rerouting of the line.
The city will allow Russia to have ownership status on a stretch of land totaling some 300 feet that would serve as a passageway to the new diplomatic office, and will no longer demand payment of outstanding taxes related to its diplomatic mission.
The branch office is expected to provide consular services to the city's residents and will include diplomatic residences, which will give it a higher status than a consulate. Under the agreement, it is to be completed within five years, but this timeframe may be extended to 10.
Lion and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, both of whom have been part of the complex negotiations for six months, were present at the signing ceremony at the city hall on Jerusalem Day in May. The Russians were represented by the Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov and Ambassador-at-Large Sergey Makarov, who both represented the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Jerusalem City Hall Director-General Itzik Larry and the Legal Advisor Eli Malka signed on behalf of the city, while the Israeli Foreign Ministry's signatory was the head of the Eurasia Bureau, Ambassador Yuval Fuchs.
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