RAMALLAH: The Israeli government yesterday approved the transfer of ownership of a building in the heart of Jerusalem to Russia in an effort to persuade Russian President Dmitry Medvedev not to sell arms to Syria and to back sanctions against Iran.
Israeli sources said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who will leave for Moscow today, seeks to make a goodwill gesture to Medvedev, on the backdrop of Israel’s demands to stop Syria’s armament through advanced weapons and to impose sanctions on Iran. The building in question, Sergei’s Courtyard, was owned by the USSR until it severed diplomatic ties with Israel in 1967. The building is worth some 11 million Israeli shekel (about $3.2 million), and some of its wings are currently being used by the Israeli government organizations. Israel agreed to hand over the building to the USSR in 1990, but the move wasn’t implemented due to the latter’s disbandment and later due to bureaucratic and diplomatic moves.
The proposed move is the culmination of four years of negotiations, after then-Russian President Vladimir Putin laid claim to the site on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church. The decision to transfer the property to the Russian government this year was made weeks ago by a committee comprising Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann and Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On.
Meanwhile, the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel said it would petition the Israeli High Court of Justice if the current caretaker government approves the transfer of Sergei’s Courtyard.
