The declaration of an independent Palestinian state has raised more questions than it answered on the future of Middle East diplomacy, according to a leading Western statesman here.
Foreign Minister Leo Tindemans of Belgium said the declaration at the Palestine National Council meeting in Algiers Tuesday “is a new political fact.”
But, he added, “it is not certain that this proclamation will simplify the search for a solution to the Mideast conflict.”
Tindemans affirmed that the European Community considers an international peace conference under United Nations auspices the only road to a settlement.
The E.C. has not yet formulated a position on the Palestinian declaration, nor has it reacted to the PNC’s endorsement of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242 as the basis for peace talks.
A statement is expected at the meeting of the 12 E.C. foreign ministers here next Monday. The Council of Ministers is currently under the chairmanship of Greece, probably the member state most sympathetic to the Palestinain cause.
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