Abbas to adress european parliament on PA bid

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday met with President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Mevlut Cavusoglu, who was briefed on the efforts being exerted to urge the 15 UN Security Council members to approve the Palestinian statehood bid. Abbas will be delivering a speech at the European Parliament in Strasburg, France the first leg of a tour that will also take him to the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua to gain more support for the Palestinian application at the UN Security Council. On Wednesday after arriving in Strasbourg, the Palestinian leader held a meeting with the European Security and Foreign Policy chief, Catherine Ashton. They discussed the latest developments concerning the bid for Palestinian-UN full membership.