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Minister Tanja Fajon took part in the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting. The main topics on the agenda were Russian aggression against Ukraine and the Middle East. On the margins of the meeting, the EU foreign ministers met informally with their British counterpart David Lammy. Other current foreign policy issues – Moldova, Georgia, Sudan, Somalia, Venezuela and relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan – were also discussed.

Prime Minister Robert Golob today attended a summit of the Mediterranean EU countries, MED9, in Paphos, Cyprus. The summit was also attended by the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Prime Minister Robert Golob made a statement to the media on the first anniversary of the Hamas terror attack in Israel and the start of the Gaza war. "Today marks one year since the brutal Hamas terror attack on innocent Israeli civilians, one year since the capture of Israeli hostages in Gaza, and one year since the Israeli military launched one of the largest slaughters in modern history.

One year has passed since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered a spiral of violence in the Middle East with catastrophic humanitarian consequences, especially for women and children. Slovenia condemns all violence, calls for the protection of civilians, the release of all hostages, the provision of humanitarian aid and the implementation of the two-state solution, which is a prerequisite for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Prime Minister Robert Golob chaired a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as rapporteur. The Prime Minister also addressed the Security Council.

Prime Minister Robert Golob today addressed the UN General Assembly. In his speech, he touched upon the most pressing issues of our time, focusing on peace and security in the international community, the reform of the Security Council, the climate crisis and humanity.

Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, chaired an emergency Security Council meeting on Lebanon. Slovenia, which holds the Presidency of the UN Security Council for this month, convened the emergency meeting in the light of the escalating situation and at the request of France.

Today in the UN Security Council, Slovenia hosted the main event of its Presidency, an open debate entitled "Leadership for Peace", which focused on the Security Council’s actions on three foreign policy issues: Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan. It was chaired by Prime Minister Robert Golob.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon chairs today’s UN Security Council briefing on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The debate on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2334 focuses primarily on the issue of laying the groundwork for a future two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.

At the invitation of Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, Minister Fajon took part in a meeting of European and Arab foreign ministers. The discussion focused on strengthening joint efforts and initiatives aimed at realising the two-state solution and achieving peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. They agreed that more diplomacy and international cooperation are needed to resolve this conflict.

During the discussion on Russia's aggression against Ukraine at the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, Minister Tanja Fajon expressed concern about attempts to attack nuclear power plants. On the Middle East, she stressed the need for an immediate temporary ceasefire in Gaza in order to carry out vaccination campaigns to protect children against polio. She also supported the debate on the imposition of further sanctions upon Israel.

In its Advisory opinion the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory breach some of the most elementary rules and principles of international law, including the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful.

At the regular monthly meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, ministers, including Slovenian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon, stressed the need to comply with the decisions of the relevant international courts and agreed that the EU should play a more active role in the process of strengthening the Palestinian Authority. Fajon said that the Slovenian government was working to recognise Palestine as soon as possible.

On the fourth day of her Middle East and Gulf tour, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar. The main topic of the talks was the Middle East, including the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.

In the second part of her visit to the Middle East and the Gulf, Minister Tanja Fajon visited Egypt. She and her Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, agreed that every effort must be made to bring Israel and Hamas back to the negotiating table. On the first day, the Minister visited the Red Crescent logistics depot and a hospital in Arish, North Sinai, and later travelled to the Rafah Border Crossing.

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon visited Israel and Palestine and met with senior officials on both sides. She called on Israel to abandon its plan to attack Rafah and suggested that both sides consider dialogue. She expressed the hope that the negotiations in Cairo would lead to a ceasefire agreement and the release of the hostages.

At the regular monthly meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon made a strong plea for continued support for Ukraine and for European diplomats to do more to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

Prime Minister's statement: "Finally some good news from New York. The UN Security Council has agreed on a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Slovenia, together with the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, played a key role in proposing the resolution.

Today, the UN Security Council convened a briefing on food insecurity in Gaza, requested by Slovenia, Algeria, Guyana and Switzerland. The meeting followed a white note of 22 February, sent by OCHA to Council members on food security risks in Gaza.

Slovenia presented its intervention at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the context of the request for advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, initiated by the UN General Assembly in December 2022. Slovenia’s main arguments are the right of Palestinians to self-determination and the obligations of Israel as an occupying force.