Russia calls U.S. Golan Heights decision "forerunner" for Israel-Palestine peace plan

MOSCOW, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights may come as a forerunner of Washington's "Deal of the Century" on the Israel-Palestine issue, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday.

"We are only beginning to get the reaction of the European Union that is somewhat shocked by what their NATO partners are doing with international law and directly in the region, as we have not yet started discussing the main surprise, 'the Deal of the Century' that Washington promises. Maybe this is a forerunner of the surprise in store for all of us," Zakharova was quoted as saying by the Rossiya-1 television channel.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, territory Israel seized from Syria in 1967, which was not recognized by the international community.

During his presidential campaign in 2016, Trump put forward the "Deal of the Century" aiming at resolving the long-running Palestinian-Israel conflict.

In a separate development, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday at talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Trump's proclamation on Golan Heights was a violation of international law.

"Naturally, this undermines the foundations and principles of the UN and international law since the founding of this organization ... This is certainly a source of serious concern for the countries that are in the direct vicinity of Israel," Aoun said, according to a Kremlin transcript.

The Israeli parliament passed a law in 1981 unilaterally declaring sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The UN Security Council passed a resolution in December 1981 declaring the Israeli decision null and void.