Peru recognized a "free and sovereign" Palestinian state Monday, joining a wave of Latin American countries.
"Today the government communicated to the ambassador of Palestine in Lima recognition of the Palestinian state as free and sovereign," said Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Belaunde.
The Peruvian foreign minister contacted the Palestinian ambassador to Peru, Walid Abdul-Rahim, to inform him that his country decided to recognize a Palestinian state.
Brazil led the move to recognize Palestine late last year, and has since been joined by Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana and Uruguay.
Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki applauded Peru’s recognition.
“This is the eighth recognition of its kind in Latin America. It adds to the success of Palestinian diplomatic efforts aimed at getting as many countries as possible in the world to recognize Palestinian state. This recognition is a direct reaction to all attempts by the Israeli government to stop countries of the world from recognizing the Palestinian right to establish independent state,” he said in a statement.
An Israeli official earlier this month dismissed recognition of a Palestinian state by the Latin American nations as "a useless and empty gesture because it will not change anything."
But with peace talks stalled, the Palestinians have said they are considering new diplomatic options and have welcomed the recognition.
Belaunde did not say what borders Peru recognized, only that details of the decision would come later.
"Peru since 1947 has maintained in the United Nations that there should exist a state of Israel, with secure borders, and a Palestinian state," he said. "That has been the position that Peru has permanently maintained."
Belaunde also stressed that Monday's announcement was not the result of "pressure from either side."
Brazil and some of the other South American countries have recognized Palestine within the 1967 borders, which include East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, lands occupied by Israel in the Six Day War.
Israel has annexed East Jerusalem, a position not supported by the international community or the Palestinians, who hope to establish the capital of their own future state there.
US-backed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks last collapsed in September 2010 when a limited moratorium on Israeli settlement construction in the occupied territories expired.
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The Republic of Suriname has recognized a free and independent Palestinian state on the lands occupied by Israel in the Six Day War.
In letters sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, Surinamese President Desi Bouterse expressed his country's support for Palestinian national rights and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, Ma'an news agency reported.
Palestinian Authority Foreign Affairs Minister Riad al-Malki said on Tuesday that the latest recognition is another achievement of Palestinian diplomacy.
Suriname's decision is in line with international support for United Nations resolutions demanding the end of Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The international community backs Palestinian demands for a state in most of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) - all territories Tel Aviv occupied in the 1967 Six Day War.
Israel has persistently continued constructing settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds despite the United Nations' condemnation of the action.
Over 100 countries have endorsed the Palestinians' 1988 declaration of independent statehood.
Among them, several Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela have recognized an independent Palestinian state.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has ruled out a unilateral declaration of independence.
"At this stage there is no option to declare a Palestinian state without Israel's collaboration," Abbas said in an interview aired on Al Jazeera television on Saturday. "A Palestinian state will be established only with agreement from Israel."
Abbas said the Palestinians would continue their "political struggle for the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital" and would approach the United Nations on the matter by September.
He warned that the collapse of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority could lead to a "popular uprising" or a "Palestinian revolt," but ruled out the possibility of a military conflict with Israel.







The Palestinian president also criticized US President Barack Obama for his failure to put an end to the settlement construction and resolve the Middle East crisis. "They could have done a lot more, but they failed," Abbas said.
He said that during George W. Bush's presidency, Israel and the Palestinian Authority reached an agreement under which Israel agreed to return to 1967 borders and to the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, but Israel failed to keep its part of the bargain.
In September, US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed after Israel refused to extend a 10-month moratorium over freezing construction of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Since then, the Palestinians have been trying to get international recognition of their state. In addition to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's statement of recognition of an independent Palestinian state on Tuesday, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay have all formally recognized Palestinian independence.
The Palestinian Authority said that Paraguay, Peru, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic are expected to announce their support soon.







Meanwhile, Abbas starts Sunday a two-day visit to Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said that the visit is part of "consultations and coordination between Abbas and the Egyptian president at this sensitive stage of the Palestinian issue."
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