Palestinian Embassy Opens in Sweden
Local Editor
Palestine has opened its first embassy in Western Europe in the Swedish capital city of Stockholm amid "Israel's" anger.
According to official Swedish sources, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom attended the inauguration ceremony of the Palestinian embassy in Stockholm on Tuesday night.
"Israel" has lashed out at the Swedish government for the inauguration of the Palestinian embassy.
This decision "is an unfortunate consequence of the mistaken policy adopted by the Swedish government. It will serve no purpose and certainly not advance us in the pursuit of negotiations," said "Israel's" Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon.
Abbas held talks with the Swedish officials and secured closer ties with the European country.
Earlier in the day, Sweden announced its decision to increase financial aid to Palestinians, but also urged the Palestinian authorities to carry out reforms, epically with regard to women's situation in the country.
"There are challenges: we must help one another to fight corruption, increase gender equality, improve respect for human rights, and of course continue the state building process," said Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven during a meeting with Abbas.
Sweden reportedly plans to increase its financial help to Palestine by 1.5 billion crowns over the next five years.
Abbas, for his part, reassured the Swedish officials that reforms are currently underway in Palestine.
He also called on other countries to follow the path of Sweden which was the first European Union member state in Western Europe to recognize the Palestinian statehood.
This comes as the Zionist enity recalled its envoy from Sweden after Stockholm's decision to recognize Palestine, showing that the Tel Aviv regime is deeply concerned about appreciation of the Palestinian cause in a Western country.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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