Pedro Sánchez’s first success in his European tour to gather support for the recognition of the Palestinian State in Oslo where he met with the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, to seal a joint declaration in this regard. “Norway is prepared to recognize the State of Palestine,” declared the Norwegian Prime Minister. Exactly the same thing that Sánchez stated last Wednesday regarding Spain, before the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies. “This meeting has made our agreement clear, we are going to coordinate and work side by side,” stressed the Norwegian president.
The only difference between Sánchez and Store is the moment in which to take this step. “As soon as possible,” reiterated the Spanish president, who wants to adopt this decision before next summer. “We must move from words to actions,” Sánchez urged.
The Norwegian president, despite supporting the initiative, has not wanted to commit to the calendar: “We have not made a decision, it depends on the moment and the context,” Store alleged. But he has also celebrated Sánchez’s initiative. “Norway and Spain are prepared to take the step,” the head of the Spanish Executive stressed, in any case.
Asked if he is seeking the same consensus in this regard with the leader of the opposition, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who is trying to articulate in Europe, Sánchez highlighted that last Wednesday in Congress he heard “broad support” for the determination of the Government of recognize the Palestinian state as soon as possible. But he has criticized Feijóo’s attitude and has urged the leaders of the Popular Party to “clarify themselves.”
In his efforts to lead the push in Europe for the recognition of the Palestinian State before this summer, Sánchez has in Norway a reference point loaded with symbolism for the success of his purpose. The 1993 Oslo conference, which was a continuation of the Madrid conference in 1991, was the culmination of a process of mutual recognition between Israel and Palestine that was finally frustrated, but whose steps the Spanish president now wants to take up as the best example to follow. to open a peace process in the conflict in the Middle East.
The first step, according to Sánchez’s geopolitical strategy – and provided that the escalation of tension between Israel and Iran does not destroy all the efforts undertaken so far – would be the recognition of Palestine as a State, by the largest possible number of members of the club. community. And after the joint commitment already sealed by Spain, Ireland, Malta and Slovakia, on March 22 in Brussels, Sánchez added Norway to his particular roadmap in this initiative this Friday, after meeting precisely in Oslo with his prime minister. , Jonas Gahr Store.
Spain and Norway have thus signed a joint declaration that supports the recognition of the Palestinian State, and therefore adds allies to achieve a “critical mass” among members of the community club, which also drags other European countries to take the step.
“We are prepared,” emphasize both countries, which have thus confirmed in the joint declaration their “willingness” to recognize Palestine as a State, and their agreement that it is a necessary condition for the implementation of the two-State solution, “where Israelis and Palestinians live together in peace and security.” A formula, both parties recognize, “vital for peace and stability in the region.”
The joint statement by Spain and Norway is aligned with the territory partition plan approved by the UN in 1947. This plan attributes the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Palestine. And although the text signed by Spain and Norway harshly condemns the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, and expresses its “deep sympathies for the people and the State of Israel”, it also denounces the use of force. “indiscriminate and disproportionate” of Israel in Gaza.
After his stopover in Oslo, Sánchez headed to Dublin, where this afternoon he also plans to meet with the new Prime Minister of Ireland, Simon Harris, who has just taken office and with whom the Spanish president wants to renew the commitment he has made. already adopted by his predecessor, Leo Varadkar, to recognize the Palestinian State.
