Brussels, 22/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was, on Wednesday, at the seat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) secretariat general where he was received by Secretary General Youssef Amrani. In a joint press release, Abbas and Amrani state that settlement of the Middle East conflict is one of the top priorities for Mediterranean countries. There is a Palestinian and also an Israeli among the UfM deputy secretaries general. Abbas has taken a particular interest in the project for desalination of seawater in Gaza recently submitted by senior Euromed officials, together with a call for investors.
Mahmoud Abbas' visit took placed in the context of a visit to Spain, one of the stages of his European tour during which he calls for recognition by the EU of the future Palestinian state - something that is likely to be requested this autumn during the UN General Assembly.
In Madrid, Spain's Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said any recognition of a Palestinian state depended on the effort made by Israelis and Palestinians towards reaching an understanding on the fundamental elements of a solution, it is reported in the press. It is important that, in order to bring about recognition, Israelis and Palestinians sit down together, speak to each other, negotiate and reach agreement on the fundamental elements of a solution, Jimenez said. The EU27 are divided on this matter and hope to avoid having to take a decision in September. France and Spain, in particular, are not totally opposed to the recognition of a Palestinian state but do not intend to impair unity within the ranks of the EU (see EUROPE 10421).
Mahmoud Abbas does not wish to prevent the matter from being taken forward and states he would be willing to return to the negotiating table if there was the possibility of making headway. The president of the Palestinian Authority, who has attended talks at the highest level, has reaffirmed his determination to call for Palestine's full member status at the UN in September. This position is neither tactics nor strategy but results from the persistent failure of peace talks, he had explained after a recent meeting of the central committee of the Fatah movement and of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). “To date, there has been no politically acceptable plan for resuming peace talks” with Israel “on the basis of international resolutions, or the two-state solution and a stop to resettlement”, he asserted.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, said a little earlier on that he was willing to begin peace talks with Palestinians in Jerusalem immediately, or even in Ramallah (West Bank). (F.B./transl.jl)