Sweden to recognize Palestine
October 3, 2014
Sweden's new government will recognize the state of Palestine, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (pictured above) said on Friday, in a move that will make it the first EU member* to do so.
The United Nations General Assembly approved the recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state in 2012, but the European Union has yet to follow suit.
"The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution, negotiated in accordance with international law," Löfven said during his inaugural address in parliament.
"A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence. Sweden will therefore recognize the state of Palestine."
'Premature,' says Washington
Known as a trustworthy mediator in international affairs, and for wielding an influential voice in EU foreign policy, Sweden could sway other countries to back the Palestinians' long-standing desire to pursue statehood.
A first reaction from the United States government, however, described Stockholm's intentions as "premature."
"We certainly support Palestinian statehood, but it can only come through a negotiated outcome, a resolution of final status issues and mutual recognitions by both parties," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters when asked about the decision.
Israelis and the Palestinians, Psaki said, must be the ones "to agree on the terms on how they live in the future two states, living side-by-side."
No simple task
Sweden's new government, composed of Löfven's Social Democrats and Greens, hold a minority of seats in parliament and is seen in Sweden as one of the weakest in decades. The former center-right administration under Fredrik Reinfeldt refused to recognize Palestinian statehood on the grounds of territorial ambiguities.
The Palestinians desire an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, with its capital in East Jerusalem. While Gaza's boundaries are clearly defined, the precise territory of what would be Palestine in the West Bank and East Jerusalem can only be determined via negotiations with Israel on a two-state solution. Those negotiations are currently on ice.
glb/shs (Reuters, AP, AFP)
*Within the EU, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Romania currently recognize Palestine, but they did so before joining the 28-member bloc.