Moscow, Sep 14 (IANS/RIA Novosti): Russia will back any Palestinian bid to achieve statehood at a UN vote, Russia's permanent envoy to the UN Vitaly Churkin has said.
"We will, of course, vote for any of the Palestinian proposals. But I must say that we did not push them toward this," Churkin told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
"We say, however you decide, we will support you," he added.
Russia, which has backed Palestinian aspirations for sovereignty since 1988, is a co-sponsor of the Mideast peace process along with the UN, US and the European Union.
Palestinian officials said they were likely to put their bid to the full UN General Assembly later this year.
While most UN members support the bid, approval by the General Assembly would only give the Palestinians non-member state status. For full recognition, the bid would have to be approved by the UN Security Council - and the US has said it will use its veto to block it.