The European Union assured Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that it would continue to support his ambition of establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. In a joint press conference with the Palestinian leader, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said, “I want to first of all reassure President Abbas and his delegation of the firm commitment of the European Union to the two-state solution with Jerusalem as shared capital of the two states,” the EU top diplomat stressed. Ahead of a scheduled meeting with EU Foreign Ministers, President Abbas urged EU governments to immediately recognize a state of Palestine, claiming the move would not hinder negotiations with Israel on a peace settlement. Abbas said, “At the same time we think that the European Union should play a political role in this Middle East process in order to reach a just solution on the basis of internationally recognized terms and resolutions,” Abbas said, while adding that the Palestinian leadership “pays all due respect to the positions of the European Union. We truly consider the EU as a true partner and friend, and therefore we call its Member States to swiftly recognize the state of Palestine, and we confirm that there is no contradiction between recognition and the resumption of negotiations,” the Palestinian said, while making no reference to President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the city, in which he set a time table for the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
It is important to note that while nine EU Member states, including Sweden and Poland, have already recognized a state of Palestine, the 28-nation bloc’s position is clear, in which a recognition of a Palestinian state must only come as part of a final-peace-settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.