Guatemala: No US pressure behind embassy move to Jerusalem

The United States did not pressure Guatemala into announcing it will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the Central American state's foreign minister said Wednesday.

"There wasn't any pressure. There wasn't any overture from the United States to make this happen. This was a decision by the government, the state and the foreign policy of Guatemala," the minister, Sandra Jovel, told a news conference in Guatemala City.

Jovel told the news conference with an annoyed tone: "We have not had pressure from any country, because we are friends and historical allies with Israel.... We have asked nothing of Israel nor the United States."