RAMALLAH - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Thursday thanked Thailand for recognising a Palestinian state, according to a statement carried by the WAFA news agency. "President Mahmud Abbas thanks Thailand's king and government for its official recognition of the Palestinian state," it said. The statement said that the move was announced by Thailand's mission to the United Nations in New York, and said "official procedures have began on the establishment of diplomatic relations." The office of Palestinian foreign minister Riad al-Malki confirmed the Thai announcement, saying it brought to 131 the number of countries who recognise a Palestinian state within the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War.