Norway stands ready to recognise the state of Palestine and its proper place in the United Nations, Norway’s Prime Minister has confirmed at a meeting with Spain’s Sánchez.
“Norway stands ready to recognise the state of Palestine,” Jonas Gahr Store stated.
The news came after the Norwegian Prime Minister met with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez, who embarked on a European tour on Friday to persuade more countries to recognise an independent Palestinian state. He said on Friday that Spain wants to recognise Palestine “as soon as possible,” using the move as a way to give momentum to the final peace process.
Store said at a joint press conference: “The question is at what moment and in what setting to (recognise Palestine) in order to support the process towards peace in the region. And what this meeting today has made clear is that we stay very closely coordinated between Madrid and Oslo.”
Store clarified Norway will “actively engaged” with Spain on the issue of recognising Palestine in the coming weeks and that he supports a “democratic Palestine” in which the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are governed by Palestinian authorities.
Nevertheless, Sánchez noted that there is “clear momentum” towards recognising Palestine because of the situation in the Gaza Strip, pointing to the upcoming debate at the United Nations on making the country a full member state.
Despite, Norway and Spain unanimously condemned the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, calling for an immediate ceasefire and for Israel to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the besieged population.
Spanish PM said: “But besides this, we need to reach a political solution that once and for all brings peace and justice into the region, and we all agree that only a two-state solution will end the conflict.”
Sánchez said Oslo and Madrid were “powerful reminders” of the possibility of peace, and called for an international peace conference “as soon as possible.” In November, Norway’s parliament accepted a government proposal that the country was ready to recognise an independent Palestinian state. In the early 1990s, Norway also hosted Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that led to the Oslo Accords.
Sánchez next travelled to Ireland, where he became the first foreign leader to meet the new Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris. Ireland has repeatedly signalled its intention to recognise a Palestinian state.
He called on more leaders to support the idea of a Palestinian state: “When we move forward, we would like to do so with as many others as possible to lend weight to the decision and to send the strongest message.”
Sánchez added that willing countries would make their declarations “when the conditions are appropriate” and that they would support the new Palestinian state.
The negotiations are critical now because of the looming sharpening with reports of a possible attack on Israeli and American assets by Iran. The war in the Gaza Strip erupted after an unprecedented Hamas attack on 7 October that killed 1,170 people, mostly civilians. The Israeli counter-offensive has resulted in the deaths of at least 33,634 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
On 22 March, Spain issued a statement alongside Ireland, Malta and Slovenia on the sidelines of the EU leaders’ summit, saying that they were “ready to recognise Palestine” and that this would happen when “the circumstances are appropriate.” Earlier this month, Sánchez also travelled to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to discuss the situation in Palestine and Israel. On Monday, Spain will host Portugal’s new Prime Minister Luis Montenegro in Madrid to try to persuade him to do likewise.
