Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and NevisiStock

The Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis on Monday announced it would recognize “Palestine” as an independent and sovereign state, the Palestinian Authority (PA) “foreign ministry” said.

According to a statement on its website, the Foreign Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Mark Brantley, handed a statement with the announcement to PA “foreign minister” Riyad al-Malki.

Al-Malki confirmed that the PA is ready to nominate an ambassador to Saint Kitts and Nevis within a few days.

The announcement comes a week after al-Malki indicated that a new country will be recognizing the State of “Palestine” by the end of the month, though he did not name the country at the time.

Several European countries have recognized “Palestine” in recent years, but those moves were symbolic ones that have little, if any, actual diplomatic effect.

In Latin America, Colombia announced last August that it had decided to “recognize Palestine as a free, independent and sovereign state.” However, the country’s government later said it would review the decision.

PA officials have been pressuring countries to officially recognize “Palestine”, in a move meant to bypass direct peace talks with Israel.