West Jerusalem
On 6 April 2017 the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying, "We reaffirm our commitment to the UN-approved principles for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, which include the status of East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. At the same time, we must state that in this context we view West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel." Some commentators interpreted this as a Russian recognition of Israel's claim to West Jerusalem, while others understood the statement as a Russian intention to recognize West Jerusalem as Israel's in the context of a peace deal with the Palestinians. On 14 June 2018, Russia held, for the first time, its annual Russia Day reception in Jerusalem. Until then, the annual reception has been held in the Tel Aviv area. Although Russia has publicly recognised West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, it continues to locate its embassy in Tel Aviv.