Abbas to lay cornerstone for new PA embassy in Brazil

JPOST.COM STAFF AND ASSOCIATED PRESS
12/29/2010

Palestinian Authority president set to preside over ground breaking ceremony in Brasilia; move follows Brazil's recognition of Palestinian state.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was scheduled to lay the cornerstone of a new Palestinian Embassy in Brazil's capital, Brasilia later this week, AFP reported.

After presiding over the ground breaking ceremony on Friday, the PA president is to attend the inauguration of Brazil's next president, Dilma Rousseff, according to the report.
Earlier in the month, Brazil said it had recognized the state of Palestine based on borders at the time of Israel's 1967 conquest of the West Bank.

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said the recognition was in response to a request made by Abbas a month to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a month earlier.

Silva sent a letter to Abbas on Dec. 1, saying Brazil recognizes Palestine and hopes that the recognition will help lead to states of Israel and Palestine "that will coexist peacefully and in security."

The foreign ministry sad that the recognition is "in line with Brazil's historic willingness to contribute to peace between Israel and Palestine."

Following in Brazil’s footsteps, Argentina announced several days later that it recognized a “free and independent” Palestinian state, sparking an immediate condemnation from Israel.

Argentina’s President Cristina Kirchner told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a letter that her country recognized a Palestine defined by 1967 borders, Argentine officials said.

Most recently, Uruguay's foreign minister said last Thursday that his country plans to join the other South American countries in recognizing a Palestinian state.

Minister Luis Almagro told reporters that the decision to formally recognize a sovereign Palestinian state has been taken, though officials are studying the implications of that decision with regard to international law and politics. The recognition was expected to take place in the earlier part of 2011.