The United States said on Monday that it would not issue a visa to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to attend the UN General Assembly session in New York next month, during which several US allies intend to recognize a Palestinian state, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
A US State Department official said that Abbas and about 80 other Palestinian representatives would be affected by the decision to deny and cancel visas for members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority.
Abbas had planned to participate in the annual session of the UN General Assembly at the organization's headquarters in Manhattan. He was also preparing to attend a summit co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, at which Britain, France, Australia and Canada are expected to formally recognize the state of Palestine, Reuters reported.
Abbas's office expressed surprise at the US decision and said it violated the UN headquarters agreement.