The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica voted against the United States’ decision of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

During the United Nations General Assembly which had the presence of 193 member countries, 128 voted in favor of the resolution which condemns the decision of the United States; 9 nations voted against the resolution and 35 abstained.

Although the resolution is symbolic it is a clear statement of where the countries stand, supporting the longstanding international consensus that the status of Jerusalem can only be settled if a peace deal is reached by Israel and Palestine.

The vote against the US came despite the strong statements made by the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, that “Washington would remember which countries disrespected America by voting against them” and Trump’s threat of cutting US economic funding to countries that didn’t back their position,

Christian Guillermet, director of Foreign Politics of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented in an interview with Teletica that both decisions are sovereign, “Honestly, we are not concerned with retaliations. We know how important this decision is for the United States. We respect it, but within the frame of multilateral organizations, Costa Rica defends international law, and it has voted following the rules that the international community established… The United States has a right to defend its interests and we are very respectful”, explained Guillermet.