Palestinian President in Greece for Official Visit

It comes amid an official visit to Greece by the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“We have already changed all documents issued by ministries and public services and they now bear the name ‘State of Palestine, ‘” Mr. Abbas said during a news conference with Mr. Tsipras on Monday.

Greece’s parliament approved a resolution on Tuesday calling on the government to recognise the state of Palestine, in a special session attended by the visiting Palestinian president. Larry is our main news editor.

The state of Palestine now enjoys bilateral recognition from 137 nations.

However, even if Greece joins the growing list of nations that have granted legal recognition to Palestine, on the ground, the creation of a separate Palestinian state still remains a distant dream.

Mr Tsipras’ leftist-led government is trying to balance improved bilateral relations with Israel with his party’s long-standing support for Palestinian statehood.

While Sweden was the 135th state to recognize the state of Palestine, its 2014 move reverberated in many European capitals.

He spoke after talks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

He said Abbas’ visit to Greece signals the “strengthening” of traditionally historic ties between the two. He was in Israel last month where he met Abbas and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, unnamed Greek government officials were quoted as saying that the government has no intention of recognizing the Palestinian Authority as a state in order “not to disturb good relations with Israel”.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) also welcomed the decision.

The flag of Palestine was raised at the United Nations headquarters in NY for the first time on 30 September, as a symbolic gesture.