Portugal’s center-right government will begin consultations regarding the potential recognition of a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Luis Montenegro stated on Thursday, reported the Reuters news agency.
According to Montenegro, the government “decided to promote consultations with the president and the political parties represented in parliament with a view to consider the recognition of the Palestinian state in a process that could be concluded ... at the UN General Assembly in September.”
While several countries have recognized a Palestinian state in recent years, Lisbon has indicated it prefers to coordinate its stance with fellow EU members before making such a decision.
Last May, after Ireland, Norway and Spain announced that they intended to recognize the “State of Palestine”, Portugal said that the time was not ripe to recognize a Palestinian state.
Thursday’s announcement came after French President Emmanuel Macron declared his intention to recognize a Palestinian state.
Macron was followed by the United Kingdom and Canada, which indicated in recent days that they are also considering formal recognition of Palestinian statehood.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has long urged countries to recognize “Palestine” as a means of bypassing direct talks with Israel.
While several countries have recognized “Palestine” in recent years, those moves were symbolic ones that have little, if any, actual diplomatic effect.