Germany Won't Vote for Upgraded Palestinian U.N. Status, UK to Abstain 'unless Conditions Met'
Britain said Wednesday it will abstain on a vote for upgraded Palestinian diplomatic status at the United Nations unless the Palestinians commit to an unconditional return to talks with Israel, as Germany said it would not vote in favor of the resolution.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain would only support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Thursday's vote at U.N. headquarters if Abbas agreed to negotiations over a lasting two-state deal with Israel.
To secure Britain's vote, Hague said the Palestinians would also have to drop their pursuit of International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction over Gaza and the West Bank and confirm that the U.N. resolution would not reply retrospectively.
"Up until the time of the vote itself, we will remain open to voting in favor of the resolution if we see public assurances by the Palestinians on these points," Hague told parliament.
"However, in the absence of these assurances the United Kingdom would abstain on the vote."
He added that the guarantees sought by Britain would "not be difficult to make" and could be made either in the text of the Palestinian resolution, or in accompanying statements.
There was no question of Britain voting against the resolution, Hague said.
Abbas is to submit a formal application to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Thursday to obtain an upgraded role from an observer entity to that of a non-member observer state, the same position held by the Vatican.
The Palestinians are poised to gain the backing of a majority of the General Assembly's 193 member states, but face strong opposition from the United States and Israel.
Minutes after Hague's statement, Germany said it would not vote in favor of the resolution, but a growing number of its European neighbors including France, Spain, Norway, Denmark and Switzerland have pledged to back Abbas.
If the request is approved, it will give the Palestinians access to a range of U.N. agencies and also potentially to the ICC, where they could level allegations of war crimes against Israel.
Hague said it was essential that the Palestinians provide the guarantees sought by Britain in order to assure the international community that they are serious about returning to bilateral negotiations with Israel.
"For us to support a resolution at the U.N. it is important that the risks to the peace process are addressed," he told lawmakers.
"There has been a dangerous impasse in the peace process over the last two years," he added, calling on the United States to do everything in its power to revive negotiations.
He called on Israel to be ready to re-enter talks, and urged the Jewish state to "avoid reacting in a way that damages the peace process" should the Palestinians win Thursday's vote.
Meanwhile, Lithuania said it will abstain on the looming Palestinian bid, given the lack of a united stance in the 27-nation European Union.
"Since the EU has not formed a common position -- as far as we know, around nine countries support this and others will abstain -- Lithuania will vote by abstaining," Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite said.
Grybauskaite was speaking to reporters after a meeting with her Estonian and Latvian counterparts. But neither President Toomas Hendrik Ilves nor Latvia's Andris Berzins would say which way their countries would vote.
Ilves said they wanted the EU member states to adopt a common position, while Berzins said it was too early to say which way they would vote.
"The Latvian delegation has not seen the final version of this proposal, it's still open," he said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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