CAIRO, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will back the draft resolution proposed by Palestine that sets the datelines for establishment of the State of Palestine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said Sunday.
“I cannot see any reasons to cavil about this text, or about Palestinian people’s wish to say once again ‘let’s have a look at this situation, in the UN framework’. So we say [to Palestinians], if you find one option or another suitable, then we will support you as friends. You know better what you need and how to achieve it. We think that the Palestinian case is fair, meaning that people have a right to self-determination, up to establishing their state,” Bogdanov told journalists.
Palestinians seek the creation of an independent state on the territories of the West Bank in East Jerusalem, partially occupied by Israel, as well as on the Gaza Strip territory controlled by Hamas militants. Palestine designated Jerusalem as its capital and calls on Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories it took after the 1967 war.
In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly upgraded Palestine from an "observer entity" to a "non-member observer state" and affirmed the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.
By September 2013, the Palestinian State has been recognized by 134 UN member states, including Russia. However, most of the European Union members and the United States have not given their official recognition. Some EU members such as Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have recognized the Palestinian State before joining the bloc.
