Erdogan supports Palestinian statehood

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and the Acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas attend a news briefing after their meeting in Ankara June 24, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186206.html

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the only solution for lasting peace in the Middle East is the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Erdogan made the remarks after meeting with acting Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas on Friday, AFP reported.

"The founding of an independent and viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is the basic condition for the solution to the (Israeli-Palestinian) issue," Erdogan said.

Abbas travelled to Turkey on Tuesday, on a four-day visit, in a bid to rally support for a possible yes-vote at the United Nations.

Hamas and Fatah have agreed, after signing a unity deal in May, to seek UN recognition as an independent state in the next General Assembly meeting in September.

More than 100 countries have so far officially recognized Palestine as a state based on the 1967 borders, the boundaries that existed before Israel captured and annexed East al-Quds (Jerusalem), the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Earlier this month, leaked cables revealed that Israel's Foreign Ministry had launched a global campaign to thwart the Palestinian move to seek statehood recognition.

Israeli diplomats have been instructed to lobby the highest possible officials in their respective countries and muster their support to vote against the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Moreover, Israel's closest ally, the United States, has promised to veto any vote for the recognition of the Palestinian statehood.