NEW YORK (UN). April 18 (Interfax) - Russia is calling on all members of the United Nations Security Council to vote for a resolution giving Palestine the status of a full UN member, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said at the Security Council.
"I am calling on all members of the Security Council to vote in support of the relevant draft resolution proposed by Algeria on behalf of the Arab states. We are convinced that recognizing Palestine as equal in status to Israel will promote the long-term settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the well-known foundation of international law established at the UN and reinforced by the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative," he said.
"We are talking about the creation of an independent sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in Eastern Jerusalem, which will co-exist in peace and security with Israel," he said.
The resolution was drafted by Algeria. The document contains a recommendation to the UN General Assembly to grant Palestine the status of a full member instead of its current observer status. Voting on this proposal is expected to take place at the UN General Assembly in the early hours of Friday.
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, made an appeal for full membership of the Palestinian state in September 2021, but the necessary support of nine of the 15 members of the UN Security Council was not received at the time. In November 2012, Palestine received observer status in the UN. The UN General Assembly backed that decision with two thirds of the votes.
The Palestinian state is now recognized by 140 countries, but the situation is aggravated by the fact that three permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, the United Kingdom and France - are not among them. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said earlier in April that Spain may recognize the Palestinian state before July 2024.
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