STOCKHOLM - President Mahmoud Abbas met Sweden's new prime minister on Tuesday to further international support for his cause after the Nordic state infuriated Israel when it became the first major European country to recognise Palestine as a state.
Social Democrat PM Stefan Lofven used his inaugural address in parliament last year to announce that his country would recognise a Palestinian state, prompting Israel to call its ambassador back. Sweden's ties with Israel have nose dived since. Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom called off a visit in January, officially due to scheduling difficulties but media reported that Israel would not have given her an official welcome. Sweden's govt, aiming for a temporary seat on the UN Security Council, is trying to make its international mark with calls for a feminist foreign policy and criticism of Israel.
Most western European countries have yet to give official recognition, as has the United States, although the UN General Assembly approved de facto recognition in 2012. A total of 135 countries recognise Palestine, including several east European nations that did so before they joined the EU.
Bilateral deals would be signed during Abbas' visit, Wallstrom said, and peace negotiations would also be pushed along.
"The visit also gives us an opportunity to talk about what we think that Palestine can contribute, in the hope of resuming peace negotiations," Wallstrom was quoted in Aftonbladet newspaper as saying.
Palestinians seek statehood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the blockaded Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as their capital. They have sought to side-step stalled peace talks by lobbying foreign powers to recognise their sovereignty claim.
Their resolution in the UN Security Council calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state failed in December and have also moved to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).