TUNIS, July 30. /TASS/. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed gratitude to the countries that agreed to consider recognizing the State of Palestine and said such recognition would mark a historic step toward peace in the region.
"The president highly appreciated the bold positions of friendly nations that reaffirmed their commitment to the two-state solution and peace based on international law," the Palestinian National Authority said in a statement. "Abbas stressed that these countries' recognition of the State of Palestine or their declaration of readiness to recognize it represents a historic step toward achieving a just and comprehensive peace and strengthens international efforts to end the Israeli occupation."
The president expressed his gratitude for this position and called on other countries to join it and "contribute to advancing the political process" based on the principle of two states for two peoples.
Earlier, foreign ministers from 15 countries supported the idea of considering the possibility of recognizing the State of Palestine following a conference on the issue that was held in New York. The proposal has been backed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Andorra, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Canada, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Finland and France.