Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Reuters/Claudia Greco
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive.
"I am very much in favour of the State of Palestine but I am not in favour of recognising it prior to establishing it," Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica.
"If something that doesn't exist is recognised on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn't," Meloni added.
France's decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September drew condemnation from Israel and the United States, amid the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
On Friday, Italy's foreign minister said recognition of a Palestinian state must occur simultaneously with recognition of Israel by the new Palestinian entity.
A German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make "long-overdue progress" towards a two-state solution.
Reporting by Sara Rossi
The British band Massive Attack said its members were detained by Singapore police and "isolated and separately questioned" after the two performers raised a Palestinian flag at their concert in the city-state last Wednesday.
Iran executed two of its citizens on Monday on charges of espionage and cooperation with Israel, Iranian state media reported, amid an increase in executions for offences relating to national security.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other OPEC+ members meeting online Sunday agreed to raise oil production quotas for September, even as war rages across the Middle East.
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