<p>Abbas met with President Leonel Fernandez yesterday and was also to address the Dominican Congress over the quest for statehood, which he formally presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on September 23.<br /><br />"We don't hesitate to recognize the legitimate right of Palestine to be recognized as a free, independent and sovereign State," Fernandez said, underlining that his country also had "excellent diplomatic, commercial and cultural relations with Israel."<br />Abbas replied: "You're not big militarily but you're big in faith, peace and solidarity with the Palestinian people."<br /><br />The Palestinian president is also due to travel to El Salvador and Colombia, where President Juan Manuel Santos has already pledged to abstain in any UN Security Council vote.<br /><br />Colombia, a close ally of Washington, is a non-permanent member of the 15-member Security Council, which is expected to vote on the bid in the coming weeks.<br /><br />The move is strongly opposed by both Israel and the United States, which say a Palestinian state can only emerge through bilateral negotiations.<br /><br />Six Security Council members -- Brazil, China, India, Lebanon, Russia and South Africa -- have publicly indicated their backing for the Palestinian bid.</p>
<p>Abbas met with President Leonel Fernandez yesterday and was also to address the Dominican Congress over the quest for statehood, which he formally presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on September 23.<br /><br />"We don't hesitate to recognize the legitimate right of Palestine to be recognized as a free, independent and sovereign State," Fernandez said, underlining that his country also had "excellent diplomatic, commercial and cultural relations with Israel."<br />Abbas replied: "You're not big militarily but you're big in faith, peace and solidarity with the Palestinian people."<br /><br />The Palestinian president is also due to travel to El Salvador and Colombia, where President Juan Manuel Santos has already pledged to abstain in any UN Security Council vote.<br /><br />Colombia, a close ally of Washington, is a non-permanent member of the 15-member Security Council, which is expected to vote on the bid in the coming weeks.<br /><br />The move is strongly opposed by both Israel and the United States, which say a Palestinian state can only emerge through bilateral negotiations.<br /><br />Six Security Council members -- Brazil, China, India, Lebanon, Russia and South Africa -- have publicly indicated their backing for the Palestinian bid.</p>