President Mahmoud Abbas warned Thursday that there could be serious ramifications if the UN rejected recognition of a Palestinian state in September.
The president told France 24 that rejecting Palestinian statehood could be a dangerous move, and that he did not want a third Palestinian uprising to erupt, in an interview broadcast Thursday.
Abbas' comments were made during a visit to Paris, where the president sought the advice of his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on the Palestinian Authority's bid to seek recognition of its statehood.
A source in the presidential office told Reuters that Sarkozy had given Abbas his "clear support" for efforts to create a state.
French ambassador Gerard Araud told the UN Security Council that France was considering recognition of the state of Palestine as an option to relaunch the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
US President Barack Obama last year set a target of September 2011 for an accord to set up a Palestinian state. But talks between the rivals ended within weeks after Israel refused to extend a moratorium on illegal settlement building.
If peace efforts remain deadlocked, Abbas has said he will in September seek recognition at the UN General Assembly for an independent state.
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