Brasília – The Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, confirmed today (11th) the visit of the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to Brazil on the 20th this month. The information was disclosed after a meeting with the president of Israel, Shimon Peres, in the Brazilian capital, Brasília.
The visit of the Palestinian leader was forecasted to take place next week, but the Brazilian foreign office (Itamaraty) had not set a date yet. Amorim stated that, during the meeting with Abbas, the Brazilian government is going to try to persuade him to remain in office by means of a candidacy in the election scheduled for January 2010. The president of the Palestinian Authority, however, has already expressed his opposition to a new term in office for next year, due to impasses in the peace negotiations.
Regarding the conversation with the Israeli president, Amorim ensured that Iran was not a matter that was discussed “in particular”, and that the central theme was the “overall” scenario in the Middle East. According to the minister, the Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territory were also discussed, but only from a “more philosophical” point of view.
According to BBC Brazil, the expansion of settlements is believed to be the main contributing factor to Abbas’ decision not to run for a new term. Last Saturday (7th), Peres has publicly manifested his wish that the Palestinian leader will not give up on the election.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum