Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo on Wednesday said Spain would support Palestine's bid for enhanced UN status at a General Assembly vote this week.

Addressing the Spanish congress, Garcia-Margallo said the decision had been taken "for the coherence of our history," and because he believed it was "the most adequate solution" on the road to peace.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas will submit the reques to upgrade their rank from an observer entity to that of a non-member observer state before the UN General Assembly.

If approved by the 193 member states, it will give the Palestinians access to a range of UN agencies and also potentially to the International Criminal Court.

"We think that agreeing to the petition would strengthen President Abbas' position as he is the person in Palestine who has made the strongest stand in favor of dialogue and negotiation," Garcia-Margallo said.

He added there would not be a united front by the European Union over the issue.

"We tried until the last moment for there to be a consensus between the 27 member states, but it was not possible," he said. Endi

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