By EurActive.com
The Greek government is committed to recognising Palestine, said Syriza MEP Sofia Sakorafa. EurActiv Greece reports.
In an interview with EurActiv Greece, the lawmaker said that 138 countries within the UN are in favour of the request to upgrade the Palestinian Authority to a state, and dozens of national parliaments have already done so.
In the EU, Sweden unilaterally recognized Palestine in October 2014, while similar, non-binding votes have taken place in the parliaments of France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.
>>Read: Sweden recognises Palestinian state
“There is a fixed commitment of the Greek government to recognize Palestine as a state […] I estimate that very soon the Greek government will also raise the issue. Schematically-speaking, once it takes a breath from the suffocation,” Sakorafa underlined, referring to the tough negotiations between Athens and the so-called “Troika” on the future of the cash-strapped country.
Last December, the European Parliament approved a non-binding resolution calling for international recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The carefully-worded measure, initially proposed by S&D, ALDE and the Greens, promoted “recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two-state solution,” and “believes these should go hand in hand with the development of peace talks, which should be advanced.”
Coalition partners less enthused
Such a move by Syriza would probably put it at odds with its coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks.
Defence Minister and Independent Greeks chief Panos Kammenos recently spoke in favour of continuing defence cooperation with Israel, as well as trilateral cooperation with Nicosia and Tel Aviv.
“We will continue the cooperation both on a political and military level,” he said in February, after a meeting with Israel’s ambassador to Greece.
