Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez Says His Country Is Ready To Admit Palestine

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. (Between/Anadolu)

JAKARTA - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday that Spain was "ready to recognize the Palestinian state."

Sanchez said his government would officially recognize Palestine before July, and he would soon tour Europe to try to convince his colleagues to do the same.

"The international community cannot help the Palestinian state if it does not recognize its existence," Sanchez said during a parliamentary session, reported by Antara.

The socialist prime minister added that recognizing Palestine is an act that is in accordance with justice, in accordance with the demands of the majority of social and demic of European geopolitical interests.

Although the minority government's proposal to recognize Palestine will most likely have majority support in parliament, the country's main opposition party will likely not support the proposal.

And although Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said on Wednesday that he supports a two-state solution, he disagrees with Sanchez's approach.

Stressing the views of other conservative European leaders, Feijoo said the recognition should be a result of the negotiation process and must also be carried out unanimously by more influential countries.

Spain has now joined Ireland, Malta, and Slovenia expressed their willingness to recognize Palestine.

On Friday, Sanchez will start a series of meetings with Norwegian, Irish, Portuguese, Slovenian and Belgian leaders to discuss plans and efforts to convince more countries to join him in recognizing the Palestinian state.

Last week, he even traveled to the Middle East and met Jordanian, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar leaders to discuss efforts to achieve continued peace in Palestine and Israel.