Bulgaria to Abstain on Palestinian UN Vote

Bulgaria will abstain from the vote on upgraded diplomatic status for Palestinians at the United Nations, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov has announced.

The Balkan country has thus joined the likes of Australia and Germany, who have also declared they would abstain from voting.

In a statement, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister has noted that a potential upgrade of the Palestinian status would not improve the situation between Israel and the Palestinians, as it would not guarantee the quick renewal of negotiations.

Bulgaria is against unilateral actions on behalf of either side in the conflict, as the country believes they would result in further isolation and hamper the peace process, he has added.

Mladenov has pointed out that his country supports a negotiated two-state solution.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister has reminded that Bulgaria supports the Palestinian people's right to self-determination and recognized the Palestinian state already in 1988.

The UN General Assembly is set to vote in favor of upgrading the Palestinian status from observer entity to observer state, thus implicitly recognizing a sovereign state of Palestine.

The Palestinian resolution is expected to pass easily in the 193-nation UN General Assembly, as it needs only a simple majority.

Palestinians say the bid, which would give it the same "non-member state" status as the Vatican, is an attempt to rescue the Middle East peace process.

The bid is strongly opposed by Israel and the US.