RI, Palestine discuss Palestinian statehood bid

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa met his Palestinian counterpart Riad al-Maliki on the sidelines of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday (Wednesday in Jakarta).

The two discussed the Palestinian statehood bid that will be officially proposed by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas during the session's general debate scheduled for Friday (Saturday in Jakarta).

Marty said they discussed the scenario as to how to win the bid, and what to do if it failed at the Security Council level. The US, one of the council's five permanent members, has threatened to exercise its veto right to block the bid.

“There's a possibility that the proposal will be rejected through the use of the veto right by one of the countries. We have discussed the next measures on what to do should it happen,” Marty said after the meeting with al-Maliki.

Marty reiterated Indonesia's full support for the Palestianian statehood bid.

“But, we also have to ensure smart forms of support. That's why we communicated [with al-Maliki], so as to identify our next steps,” he said.