PM announces meetings with President of Republic, political parties
Following on from comments and commitments made earlier this week, prime minister Luís Montenegro has announced that he will be hearing the President of the Republic, and political parties with seats in parliament, with a view to “considering the recognition of the Palestinian State” at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
“The Government has decided to consult His Excellency the President of the Republic and the Political Parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic, with a view to considering the recognition of the Palestinian State, in a procedure that can be concluded during the High-Level Week of the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations, to be held in New York next September,” he said, in a statement.
In interview with SIC Notícias, minister for foreign affairs Paulo Rangel criticised parties of the left for suggesting the government has taken too long to reach this point. In his view, the last Socialist government had eight years to recognise the state of Palestine, but never did.
“The first Portuguese government not to authorise arms exports to Israel, in April 2024, was this government” and “on May 10, 2024, it voted to admit Palestine as a full member of the United Nations,” he stressed.
“We have always said that we would recognise it when it had a useful effect. The useful effect is here,” he added, referring to the fact that the Palestinian Authority is ready to remove Hamas from power in Gaza.
President Marcelo is equally relaxed about the situation, telling reporters that in his opinion the “government has acted in a very prudent and sensible manner”.
The decision is being made “in conjunction with European and other partners”, he added, so no one can cite indifference, or haste.
Marcelo also said he has been talking regularly with the prime minister about developments in this area and that he is aligned with the government: the country has ‘a single foreign policy’.
“There is not one from the President of the Republic, from parliament, from the government… There is one foreign policy: Portugal’s foreign policy,” he said.
Source material: LUSA/ SIC
