REFILE-Russia calls U.S. backing for Israeli settlements blow to peace process

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday that a U.S. decision to effectively back Israel's right to build Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank undermined the legal basis for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday abandoned Washington's four-decade-old position that such settlements were "inconsistent with international law." Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned the change of policy in a statement on Tuesday, warning the move would escalate tensions in the region.

Moscow's stance is that such settlements on Palestinian territory are illegal under international law, it said.