The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, told BIRN that Palestine would not recognise Kosovo as an independent state. “We have good relations [with Kosovo] but we don’t interfere in conflicts between countries. We distance ourselves and we stay away from all the conflicts, because we don’t want to be here or there,” he said. The President said he was happy to offer Kosovo his “moral support” but no more. “They are friends, they are our people. But, because we have our problems, we hope that they will find a solution for themselves, without our interference,” Abbas said.