Malta is adopting a wait-and-see approach on Palestine’s bid to become a member of the United Nations’ cultural agency Unesco, until the EU decides whether to adopt a common position on the matter.

The executive board of Unesco – the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation – on Wednesday backed a Palestinian draft resolution proposing membership, which will be decided by the 193 member states at the general conference to be held later this month in Paris.

Malta’s Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to Unesco, Ray Bondin, said there was no common EU decision yet on how member states should vote.

The matter will be discussed on Monday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesman.

“We will wait for that discussion to take place and if there is no common EU position every member state will vote as it wants,” the spokesman said without saying what stand Malta would adopt at the meeting.

He insisted that Malta was in favour of a two-state solution in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as outlined by the Prime Minister during his address at the UN general assembly last month.

The Palestinians will have to garner the support of two-thirds of Unesco member states to join the club, a very likely possibility despite the US threatening to withdraw funding to the organisation, sources told The Times.

Membership means the Palestinians will be able to participate in all Unesco processes including nominating sites for World Heritage Status. The Palestinians have had observer status at Unesco since 1974.

In September Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formally applied for full membership in the UN and the bid is currently passing through the procedural channels.

The Unesco general conference will meet between October 25 and November 10.