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Borrell: Spain, Ireland to Recognize Palestinian State on May 21

07 May 2024, Belgium, Brussels: European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks to the media ahead of the meeting of EU foreign and development ministers at the European Council building in Brussels. Photo: -/European Council/dpa
07 May 2024, Belgium, Brussels: European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks to the media ahead of the meeting of EU foreign and development ministers at the European Council building in Brussels. Photo: -/European Council/dpa
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Borrell: Spain, Ireland to Recognize Palestinian State on May 21

07 May 2024, Belgium, Brussels: European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks to the media ahead of the meeting of EU foreign and development ministers at the European Council building in Brussels. Photo: -/European Council/dpa
07 May 2024, Belgium, Brussels: European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks to the media ahead of the meeting of EU foreign and development ministers at the European Council building in Brussels. Photo: -/European Council/dpa

Spain, Ireland and other European Union member countries plan to recognize a Palestinian state on May 21, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said late on Thursday ahead of an expected UN vote on Friday on a Palestinian bid to become a full member.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in March that Spain and Ireland, along with Slovenia and Malta, had agreed to take the first steps towards recognition of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, seeing a two-state solution as essential for lasting peace.
Asked on local Spanish radio station RNE if May 21 was when Spain, Ireland and other EU countries would recognize a Palestinian state, Borrell said yes, mentioning Slovenia as well.
"This is a symbolic act of a political nature. More than a state, it recognizes the will for that state to exist," he said, adding that Belgium and other countries would probably follow.
Previously, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares had said the decision on recognition had been made, although he did not give a date.
International calls for a ceasefire and permanent end to Palestinian-Israeli conflict have grown along with the death toll from Israel's offensive in Gaza to rout out Hamas after the militants' deadly cross-border attack on Oct. 7.
Israel has said plans for Palestinian recognition constitute a "prize for terrorism" that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the Gaza conflict.
On Friday the United Nations General Assembly is set to back a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognizing it as qualified to join and sending the application back to the UN Security Council to "reconsider the matter favorably."
Ireland's national broadcaster RTE said on Thursday that Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and Malta had been waiting for the UN vote and were considering a joint recognition on May 21.
A spokesperson for the Spanish Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. There was no immediate comment on the date from the other countries.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said earlier this week his country would recognize Palestine's statehood by mid June.
Since 1988, 139 out of 193 UN member states have recognized Palestinian statehood.

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Arab World

Qatar and Jordan Pledge Support to Syria

23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
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Qatar and Jordan Pledge Support to Syria

23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)

Qatar is ready to invest in Syria's energy sector and ports, the de facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said after meeting a senior Qatari official in Damascus on Monday, as his new administration widened contacts with Arab states.

Sharaa also received Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, the first Arab foreign minister to visit Damascus since the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago. Safadi said Jordan was ready to help Syria rebuild.

The meetings further widened the diplomatic contacts of the new administration established after Sharaa's HTS, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, led a decisive offensive that overthrew Assad after more than 13 years of war.

The end of Assad's rule has upended the geopolitics of the Middle East, dealing a major blow to his ally Iran and paving the way for other states to build new ties to a country at the crossroads of the region.

Türkiye, which long backed the Syrian opposition, was the first state to send its foreign minister to Damascus.

Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi flew into Damascus on Monday aboard the first Qatar Airways flight to land there since Assad was toppled.

Sharaa, speaking to reporters as he stood next to Khulaifi, said that they had discussed the challenges of the coming period, and that he had invited Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to visit Syria.

"The Qatari side expressed its readiness for wide investments in Syria in many sectors, chief amongst them the energy sector in which they have great experience ... as well as the ports and airports," Sharaa said.

Khulaifi said Qatar, the world's third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), would continue to "stand alongside our brothers in Syria at this time more than any other time".

"Syria and its people need support during this crucial phase which requires the concerted efforts of everyone, especially concerning the lifting of sanctions and the upcoming developmental projects," he said.

JORDAN WILL PROVIDE AID

Syria's stability is a key security concern for Jordan, which borders the country to the south.

Safadi said he agreed with Sharaa on cooperating to counter the smuggling of drugs and weapons from Syria to Jordan - a problem for years under Assad.

Safadi also noted that ISIS, with which Sharaa's group clashed earlier in the Syrian war, remained a threat.

"Our brothers in Syria also realize that this is a threat. God willing, we will all cooperate, not just Jordan and Syria, but all Arab countries and the international community, in fighting this scourge that poses a threat to everyone," he said.

"I focused on reconstruction efforts and Jordan will provide aid," Safadi said, adding that the new Syrian administration must have the opportunity to develop its plans.

There was no immediate statement from the Syrian side on the meeting.

Sharaa, who met senior US diplomats last week, severed ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.