Off the wire
• No major tax measures planned in Latvia for 2016: PM  • About 40,000 in dire need of basic services in Syrian town: aid agency  • Britain relaxes travel warning on Kenya  • Roundup: UN warns of "record high" 60 mln displaced amid expanding global conflicts  • Urgent: No agreement in sight over Greece debt deal: Eurogroup President  • Bahrain says foils terror plot, seizes large amount of explosives  • Norwegian women beat men in stock trading for risk averse instinct  • 2nd LD Writethru: White gunman killing 9 at black U.S. church arrested  • Switzerland cracks down on illegal int'l online trade of medicines  • 1st LD: Obama calls for reckoning on gun violence after South Carolina hate crime shooting  
You are here: 　 Home

Slovakia supports peaceful resolution of Palestinian statehood issue

Xinhua, June 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Slovakia has been engaged in long-term support for the process of strengthening Palestinian statehood, announced Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak after meeting his Palestinian National Authority counterpart Riyad al-Maliki in Bratislava on Thursday.

According to Lajcak, it is particularly the construction of illegal settlements on the West Bank of the Jordan River that have an adverse effect on the planned two-state solution.

"Slovakia wants to see a peace resolution that will emerge from talks between Israel and Palestine. No other solution will ever bring sustainable and long-term peace and coexistence between the two nations," said Lajcak.

The Slovak foreign minister added that the only way forward is to freeze the construction of Israeli settlements while direct negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides without any attached conditions.

Al-Maliki pointed out that according to international law, the construction of settlements is illegal and Israel should respect international law.

"The responsibility to have Israel stop is a collective responsibility of the international community," stressed Al-Maliki. Endit