Foreign minister Tonio Borg yesterday reiterated Malta’s support for an independent Palestinian state, saying the country had to come into being “at the earliest opportunity.”
Borg was addressing the United Nations’ international meeting on the Question of Palestine, on Malta’s role as an “advocate of peace” in the Middle East. The meeting was convened by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, to foster greater support by the international community for the advancement of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.
“We cannot leave the open wound of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict unaddressed. The State of Israel is rightly recognized by all. The State of Palestine needs to come into being at the earliest opportunity. The primary objective of the international community must be to achieve peace in Palestine and simultaneously guarantee the right to exist for the state of Israel. While peace in the Middle East does not guarantee peace in the rest of the Mediterranean, there can be no peace in the Mediterranean without peace in the Middle East,” Borg said.
The Maltese government has consistently advocated there can be no security and stability in Europe unless there is security and stability in the Mediterranean.
“Since joining the EU, Malta has consistently demonstrated the enhanced geopolitical clout it brings to international relations by promoting stability in the Mediterranean and peace in the Middle East. As an active and ardent proponent of peace in the Middle East, Malta has long been a supporter of a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict between Israel and Palestine…
“At this United Nations International Meeting on the Question of Palestine I would like to reiterate Malta’s support to a resolution to the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.”
Borg even said the Middle East stalemate was having a negative impact upon regional relations across the Mediterranean area. He said initiatives such as Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Union for the Mediterranean were “being held hostage as a result of the lack of progress in peace talks.”
“In order to achieve the goal of creating a peaceful and sustainable Palestinian state in 2008 we must all implement a concerted agenda that addresses the key issues of borders, the status of Jerusalem, settlements, water rights, and the right of return of refugees.”
Borg however added that managing the new security challenges will also mean “making room” for the BRIC powerhouses (Brazil, Russia, India and China), South Africa, and the oil rich Gulfg States. “At the same time, the Middle East cannot be left to collapse as the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian situation and other conflicts in the region will have a major bearing on the 21st century.”