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Ljubljana – Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon welcomed the announcement by Spain, Ireland, and Norway that they will recognize Palestine on May 28th. The Prime Minister recalled that Slovenia has recently started the process of recognizing Palestine and has called on other EU members to join this process.
“I welcome today’s announcement by the leaders of the Kingdom of Spain, the Republic of Ireland, and the Kingdom of Norway about recognizing Palestine. In recent weeks, I have been in close and regular contact with them, and in the coming days, I will also be with many colleagues from member states that have not yet recognized Palestine, hoping that they will join our recognition process in the near future,” Golob stated.
He reminded that the Slovenian government, as the first among the signatories of a special declaration on the margins of the European Council – Slovenia, Spain, Ireland, Malta – began the process of recognizing Palestine two weeks ago, “in which it expressed expectations, but not conditions, for both sides.”
The Prime Minister recently urged the leaders of EU member states that have not yet recognized Palestine in a letter to join the Slovenian recognition process. “The more countries that join us, the stronger our leverage on both sides to achieve a ceasefire and the release of hostages,” he added.
The State Secretary in the cabinet of the president of the Slovenian government Vojko Volk reiterated that the government will deliver its decision on recognition to the parliament by June 13. In the meantime, they will hold talks with additional countries that would like to join the recognition in the manner planned by Slovenia.
In response to the announcement by the trio of countries, Minister Tanja Fajon also explained that Slovenia continues to discuss the recognition of Palestine with several other EU member states.