Jordanian King Cancels Romania Trip Over PM's Plan for Jerusalem Embassy

King Abdullah II of Jordan has cancelled his planned trip to Romania in response to the Romanian prime minister's announcement that the country plans to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said during a speech before the AIPAC conference in Washington on Sunday that her country intends to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

The statement was strongly contradicted by the country’s president, who opposes the move and has a final say on foreign policy issues.

>> King Abdullah is caught between Jordan’s protests and Jerusalem’s tensions | Analysis

President Klaus Iohannis called Dancila “ignorant” for making the statement, which had received strong applause from those attending the pro-Israeli conference.

Last year, Dancila submitted a draft resolution to her cabinet to move the embassy, but ran into opposition from the country's president.

In January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Dancila in Jerusalem and urged her to try and stop the European Union's "bad resolutions against Israel," as well as telling her he hoped Bucharest would move its embassy to Jerusalem.

• Romanian President: 'Ignorant' PM Wrong, Embassy Won't Move to Jerusalem
• Holocaust Institute Calls on Romania Not to Rehabilitate War Criminal
• Jordan's King Abdullah Meets Pence, Discusses ISIS and U.S. Presence in Syria

King Abdullah met with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in Washington earlier in March to discuss several strategic issues, among them the Trump administration's peace plan.

Jordan has emphasized dozens of times over the past two years that it will only support a peace plan that includes the creation of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. That remains the Kingdom’s official position.