Portugal PM says Lisbon won’t back Palestinian state before EU takes position

Portugal is not ready to recognise a Palestinian state without a concerted EU approach, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro tells Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is trying to rally support for the move.

Montenegro, who took office in March, says his government will wait for the European Union and the United Nations to work out a common position on the issue before advancing.

“We don’t go as far as other governments do with regard to recognizing the state of Palestine,” he tells a joint news conference in Madrid.

“We believe that this understanding should be built on a multilateral basis within the European Union and the United Nations.”

Both leaders condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel over the weekend and call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

“The events of this weekend reaffirm what we have been advocating for months now,” Sanchez says.

“Two paths open up before us. One leads to an escalation of war that could lead us to the abyss, and the other involves demanding a ceasefire from all parties to then immediately launch a peace process,” he adds.