[
link to www.presstv.ir]
Thu, 10 Sep 2009
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos (L) speaks during a joint press conference with Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat (back) in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Spain has voiced its support for an independent Palestinian statehood on the 1967 borders, as Israel pushes ahead with its settlement plans in East Jerusalem.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos said on Wednesday that the world cannot wait another 18 years to see peace in the Middle East.
The top diplomat was referring to the first official Palestinian-Israeli peace talks launched in Madrid in 1991, attended by Israel, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.
The Madrid talks sought out interim self-government arrangements for Palestinians, to be followed by permanent status negotiations.
However after nearly two decades of on and off peace talks held in different parts of the world, the Israeli-Palestinian issue remains unresolved.
"We should see a Palestinian statehood established on the borders of 1967," Moratinos told reporters during a joint press conference with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat in Ramallah.
Moratinos also stressed that Spain and the European Union 'will continue to exert every effort possible to achieve Palestinian aspirations of statehood'.
The development comes as Israel is pushing ahead with its plans to build hundreds of homes in East Jerusalem, despite warnings that the move could threaten stalled peace talks with Palestinians.
The international community considers Israeli settlements in the whole West Bank including East Jerusalem to be illegal and a major obstacle on the way to permanent peace in the Middle East.
The Israelis refuse to back down, claiming that the city is their 'eternal, undivided capital'.
FF/AKM
Last Edited by Leo**** on 09/10/2009 09:55 AM
Sweden
