PM Pedro Sanchez Blusukan To Several European Countries Galang Support For Recognition Of Palestinian Countries

UN News/Ziad Taleb

JAKARTA - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will make a visit to a number of European countries to garner support for the recognition of an independent Palestinian state. This was conveyed by a spokesman for the Spanish Government, Tuesday, April 7. The Spanish government previously promised to recognize the Palestinian state before July 2024. However, Madrid hopes more countries will do the same. Pilar spokesman Alegria said Sanchez would start a series of visits, meetings, and meetings with European leaders and international organizations to encourage them to recognize Palestine as a country. "We want to stop the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and contribute to starting the political peace process that leads to the realization of a two-state solution as soon as possible," said Alegria as quoted by Anadolu, Wednesday, April 10. Sanchez's visit will begin on Friday, April 12, with the agenda of a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. "The country has a long history of mediating and dealing with conflicts in the region that have succeeded in realizing important achievements such as the Oslo Agreement after the 1991 Madrid Conference," a spokesman said. The Oslo Agreement refers to an agreement between Israeli authorities and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Yasser Arafat in an effort to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict signed in 1993. After that, Sanchez will visit Ireland to meet Simon Harris, who has just been inaugurated as prime minister. Last March, the Prime Ministers of Spain, Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia signed a joint commitment to recognize the Palestinian state. They said it was the only way to create peace and security in the region. Sanchez will meet the new Portuguese Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro, on Monday (15/4) next week in Madrid. He will continue his diplomatic tour of Slovenia on Tuesday (16/4) and Belgium, which have acted as President of the Council of the European Union since the beginning of this year, on Wednesday (17/4). Sanchez and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also plan to meet before the European Extraordinary Summit in Brussels on April 17-18. The two leaders last November made a visit to the Middle East, where they criticized Israel's response to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. On their statement, Israel summoned the ambassadors of Belgium and Spain. Since Israel's retaliatory aggression against the Gaza Strip in October 2023, more than 33,000 Palestinians in the area have been killed. In addition, the displaced Palestinian people are faced with massive infrastructure collapse and the threat of acute hunger. "Our goal is clear, namely to advance efforts to recognize the Palestinian state in an important moment where this conflict has entered a decisive phase and when this conflict is being discussed by the United Nations," said Alegria.

Last week, Sanchez visited Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to discuss conditions in Palestine and seek new strategies to realize peace in the region, a spokesman said.