Abbas urges EU members to ‘swiftly’ recognize Palestinian state

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Monday urged EU member states to “swiftly” grant official recognition to the state of Palestine. “We confirm that there is no contradiction between recognition and the resumption of negotiations,” Abbas told reporters. Abbas, 82, met EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini for one-on-one talks before joining the bloc’s 28 foreign ministers for lunch on the sidelines of their monthly meeting, AFP reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a similar trip last month.