Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said during a meeting two weeks ago with US National Security Adviser John Bolton that no final decision had yet been made on the relocation of Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem and that there were various issues on the agenda before a final decision is reached, Kan 11 News reported on Monday.
According to the report, Bolsonaro’s main concern is possible damage to Brazil's trade relations with Muslim countries if a decision is made to relocate the embassy.
Bolton told Bolsonaro that the United States was ready to help Brazil in any way to promote the transfer of the embassy.
American sources who were present at the meeting said that the Brazilian president was very interested in moving his country’s embassy to Jerusalem, but he was not sure he could do so due to internal politics in his country.
After being elected, Bolsonaro announced via Twitter that he intended to uphold his campaign promise and move the Brazilian embassy to Jerusalem.
“As previously stated during our campaign, we intend to transfer the Brazilian Embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. Israel is a sovereign state and we shall duly respect that,” he wrote.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu later hailed Bolsonaro's announcement. Palestinian Arab leaders, however, condemned the move.
Monday’s report comes two weeks after Bolsonaro’s son, Eduardo, met with US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.
Reshet Bet reported at the time that the son of the Brazilian President-elect stressed at the meeting that the Brazilian embassy in Israel would move to Jerusalem.
"We do not know the date for the relocation of the Brazilian embassy to Jerusalem or when it will happen, but we have an intention to do so. The question should not be whether we will do it, but when we will do it," said Eduardo Bolsonaro.