Erekat: talks began on UN nonmember state draft resolution

Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday that consultations on drafting the resolution that will be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly regarding Palestine’s status as nonmember state are underway. He said in a statement issued by his office that the Palestinian Authority has started talks with Arab countries and the rest of the geopolitical groups in an effort to complete the draft resolution. Erekat told U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem Michael Ratney, British Consul General Vincent Finn, and Danish representative to the Palestinian Authority Lars Rihov whom he met separately in his Jericho office that the Palestinian move at the UN will maintain the rules of the political process based on international law and resolutions. He stressed that the PA will not back down from putting the draft resolution to a vote once consultations on the final draft are completed. He reiterated that this move does not contradict with the peace process, UN resolutions or signed agreement, but rather complement them, stressing that recognizing Palestine as a nonmember state will maintain the two-state solution and the peace process.