Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday that he will announce on Wednesday when Spain will recognize the Palestinian state, ruling out a May 21 date.
Sanchez said in a television interview to explain why he did not go ahead with the recognition on Tuesday, the date mentioned by EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell: “We are coordinating with other countries.”
Borrell said last week in a Spanish radio interview that Jose Manuel Alvarez, Spain’s foreign minister, had informed him that a May 21 date had been chosen for the announcement.
Sanchez, of the Socialist Workers’ Party, did not specify which countries his government is currently in discussions with.
In March, the leaders of Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Malta and Slovenia announced in a joint statement that they were ready to recognize a Palestinian state.
Michael Martin, Ireland’s foreign minister, previously confirmed that his country would recognize a Palestinian state by the end of May, without specifying a date.
“We will recognize the state of Palestine before the end of the month,” Martin, who is also Ireland’s deputy prime minister, told NewsTalk Radio.
The majority of the 193 member states of the United Nations (137 according to the Palestinian census) have so far recognized the Palestinian state.
