On Monday, Argentina chose to officially recognize the Palestinian state "according to its 1967 borders," echoing Brazil's message from last Friday.
Hector Timerman, Argentina's foreign minister, said on Monday that the Latin American nation officially recognised Palestine according to its 1967 borders and hopes for peaceful solution to Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
"Argentina has traditionally recognised the right of the Palestinian people to create an independent state just like the Israeli state, to live together in peace with their neighbours with secure and internationally recognised borders," Timerman said.
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Argentina was making the move based on its "deep desire to see a definitive advance in the negotiation process leading to the establishment of a just and durable peace in the Middle East," Timerman said.
President Kirchner's decision reflects a general consensus among the four Mercosur nations (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay). Uruguay also announced on Monday that official recognition of Palestine would be forthcoming:
"Uruguay will surely follow the same path as Argentina in 2011," Roberto Conde, Uruguay's deputy foreign minister, told the AFP news agency.
"We are working towards opening a diplomatic representation in Palestine, most likely in Ramallah," he said.
The Israeli foreign ministry expressed regret over the two nations' declarations:
"The government of Israel expresses sadness and disappointment over the decision by the Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a month before he steps down. Recognition of a Palestinian state is a breach of the interim agreement which was signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 1995 which said that the issue of the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be discussed and resolved through negotiations...."
"If Argentina had wanted to make a real contribution to peace, there are other ways of doing that other than by a purely rhetorical gesture."
The decision to recognize Palestine was made in response to a personal request by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to Latin American leaders on November 24. President Lula is the first Brazilian President to ever visit Palestine and Israel (earlier this year). Kirchner visited Israel with her husband (then president) in 2005.
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Argentina recognizes Palestine
Brazil recognizes Palestine