The Slovenian Government was the first among the signatories of a joint declaration issued on the margins of the European Council (Slovenia, Spain, Ireland and Malta) to start the process of recognising the State of Palestine, in which we expressed certain expectations, not conditions, for both sides. In my recent letter to the leaders of EU Member States, I called on those that had not yet recognised the State of Palestine to join our recognition process.  By clearly expressing expectations to all sides, we can work together, united and strong, for the common goal of putting the recognition at the service of humanity, peace and stability in the Middle East. The more countries that join us, the greater will be our leverage over both sides to achieve a truce and the release of hostages.

We are leading this process because we want to change things and are aware that the Palestinians need more than a symbolic gesture of recognition. We support the efforts of the EU and the wider international community to achieve a truce through political pressure and diplomacy. We would like to contribute to reforming and empowering the Palestinian Authority so that it represents its people in both the West Bank and Gaza and leads them to a two-state solution, which almost the entire world considers to be the solution for lasting peace. Only when all actors in the region and the world accept the reality of a two-state solution and the central issues of the Israel–Palestine conflict are addressed will lasting peace be possible in the Middle East and Israelis and Palestinians will be able to co-exist in safety and stability."