May 23. () –
The Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, maintained this Wednesday that it is still “not the time” for Portugal to recognize the State of Palestine, after the debate has been opened on the continent due to the decision of Spain, Ireland and Norway. to do the same.
“They ask me, what about recognition as a State? The position of Portugal, which is not that of the Government, nor that of Parliament, nor that of the president, is the position of Portugal as a whole, is to understand that it is not the right time for this step. When appropriate, it will be taken,” declared the head of state.
Rebelo de Sousa has stated that “the Portuguese position is very clear”, since they have defended “for a long time, in line with the United Nations, the existence of two peoples and two States”, as he indicated in statements to the press from Rome to be asked about this issue, as reported by the Lusa news agency.
“Portugal took a step at a certain moment when it understood that Palestine should be associated in terms of status within the framework of the UN legal regime. Now it has taken a further step by understanding that it should become a full member of the United Nations. “, he said in reference to a vote this month in the General Assembly, which was “overwhelming.”
The announcements by Spain, Norway and Ireland – which have led Israel to call its ambassadors in these three countries for consultations – bring to 146 the number of United Nations member states that recognize the State of Palestine. Malta and Slovenia have also stated that they could take this step soon, while Israel has criticized all these decisions and has stated that they will have a negative impact on the region.
There are currently nine EU Member States that recognize Palestine. Eight of them – Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – took the step in 1988, before entering the EU, while Sweden did so alone in 2014, fulfilling an electoral promise. of the social democrats.
Most countries that have recognized Palestine are located in Africa, Asia and South America. However, this recognition has not allowed Palestine to become a full member of the UN, since it needs the approval of the UN Security Council. The last attempt to gain the support of the Security Council occurred on April 18, but was frustrated after the United States veto.
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