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Greek parliament votes to recognise Palestinian state

23 December 2015 07:05 (UTC +04:00)

The historic resolution was adopted in the presence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the parliament Tuesday, Daily Sabah reported.

In his speech before the Greek parliament, Abbas said the Greek government's step towards recognizing the State of Palestine would be recorded in history. "Greek parliament's initiative further contributes to the foundation of the Palestinian state," he said.

The decision has an advisory role for the government to officially recognize Israel. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stated Monday that the government will officially recognize Palestine in a proper time and will start to use the term "Palestine" instead of "Palestinian Authority" in official documents.

In comments made before the decision, Abbas in a reception hosted by the president of the House, Nikos Voutsis, expressed his appreciation for the recognition.