Shinzo Abe and Mahmoud Abbas
Shinzo Abe and Mahmoud AbbasReuters

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday that his country would not move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.

Abe made the comments during a meeting with Abbas in Ramallah, said a readout published by the PA’s official news agency Wafa.

According to the report, the Japanese premier reasserted his country's support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the framework of the “two-state solution”.

Abbas thanked Abe for his country's support for the Palestinian people and told him Palestinian Arabs remained "ready to cooperate for the success of any international effort to find a political process," provided it was based on international law and the creation of a Palestinian state.

The comments come less than two weeks before the United States is due to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The move, scheduled to take place on May 14, has angered the PA.

In December, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and that he would move the embassy there.

Since that announcement, Abbas has refused to consider the Trump administration an honest broker for negotiations.

PA officials have repeatedly rejected the Trump administration’s peace proposal, which has yet to be formally presented, claiming it was coordinated with Israel.

Instead of sitting down for direct talks with Israel, Abbas has continuously imposed preconditions on talks.

Abe is on a tour of the Middle East and will meet Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday. His visit also included trips to the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.