UPDATES WITH REMARKS BY PARTICIPATING PARTIES
By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) - A two-state solution is the only way to guarantee a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, the Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Friday.
He was addressing a news conference before the start of a ministerial meeting in Madrid, participated by foreign ministers of several Muslim and European countries as well as the EU's foreign policy chief.
Albares said that a secure and peaceful coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians would be possible through the formation of an independent Palestinian state which would include Gaza and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
“This is what motivated Spain's recognition on May 28 of Palestine as a state, together with Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia,” he said.
As to the agenda and goal of today's meeting, Albares said: "We want to promote an international peace conference with the parties and the UN agencies, and if the parties are unable or unwilling to achieve peace, the international community must fulfill its responsibilities and make progress.”
Expressing support for the efforts to secure an urgent cease-fire deal for Gaza, Albares said: "There is no excuse to continue to postpone the agreement and to prolong the suffering of millions of innocent civilians.”
When asked by Anadolu about the violence by the illegal Israeli settlers in the West Bank, he said that Spain has already imposed sanctions on the settlers.
"We definitely reject and abhor any form of violence. We are aware of the potential escalation in the region, and we're taking every possible action to prevent it," Albares said.
On the significance of the meeting, he also said on X, "European, Arab and Islamic countries are meeting today in Madrid to push for an end to the war in Gaza and the implementation of the two-state solution."
Albares added, "Today we are moving forward together towards a horizon of stability and peace in the Middle East."
Meanwhile, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, one of the meeting's participant ministers, announced on X that he met Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa on the sidelines of the meeting in Madrid.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also said in his post on X, "The international community must take a decisive step towards achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East."
Similarly, Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, who also attended the meeting, commented on X, "It is important that we are unified in our efforts for peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine. That is why we coordinate with Arab countries to speak together in the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council."
"The illegal occupation must come to an end. We need concrete steps now to make the two-state solution a reality," she said.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 41,100 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and over 95,100 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.