Russia to back UN Palestine bid

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia will back any Palestinian bid to achieve statehood at a UN vote, envoy Vitaly Churkin has said.

‘We will, of course, vote for any of the Palestinian proposals. But I must say that we did not push them toward this,” Churkin told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

“We say, however you decide, we will support you,” he added.

Moscow, which has backed Palestinian aspirations for sovereignty since 1988, is a co-sponsor of the Middle East peace process along with the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union.

The Palestinians seem likely to put their bid to the full UN General Assembly later this year.

While most UN members support the bid, approval by the General Assembly would only give the Palestinians non-member state status. For full recognition, the bid would have to be approved by the UN Security Council - and the U.S. has said it will use its veto to block it.

Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau has said the Palestinian bid would mean the end for all agreements signed with Israel.

"Our agreements with the Palestinians would be null and void," he said, RIA Novosti reported.