Romania's president has stepped into a row over the location of the country's embassy in Israel.

The leader of Romania's ruling Social Democrats said the government had approved a memorandum to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, one of the first countries to do so after the United States.

The decision would have been at odds with the position of the rest of the European Union.

However, the country's president President Klaus Iohannis issued a stiff rebuttal hours insisting that relocating the embassy would be in breach of international law and it would damage Romania’s interests in the region..

Under the Romanian constitution, Iohannis has the final say.

It was not immediately clear what the Romanian government would do next after the president’s rebuttal.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "at least half a dozen" countries were considering moving their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The U.S. Embassy is due to relocate on May 14.