Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger voiced his support Thursday to the two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflicts -- a Palestinian state to live in peace with a secure Israel.

Spindelegger met in Vienna with Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian parliamentarian and a central figure in the struggle for the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state.

"We continue to make our efforts to implement the two-state solution with Israel and Palestine in a peaceful neighborhood," said the Austrian minister.

Negotiations to create a Palestinian statehood alongside Israel have come to a deadlock this year while the Israeli government continued settlement construction on the West Bank and East Jerusalem and refused to endorse the two-state solution.

"We currently miss the willingness and courage for a serious-minded negotiation process," he said.

He also noted that Fatah and Hamas should work together to create a fundamental agreement for a constitutional democratic legal order, otherwise all efforts for an independent Palestinian state would be fruitless.

"Austria recognizes the great efforts Palestinian authority has made, but without national reconciliation, an end to the self-destructive activities is unforeseeable," said Spindelegger.

(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2009)