Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, requested yesterday in Cairo the launch of a “joint initiative” between the European Union and the Arab League that would allow the holding, “as soon as possible”, of the international peace conference on the Middle East proposed by Spain for the materialization of the two-state solution.
Albares concluded his third tour of the region this Thursday in Cairo to address the current conflict in the Middle East. In the Egyptian capital, he was received by the country’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shukry. Likewise, he met with the Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Abul Gheit, and spoke before the plenary session of the Council of this organization, which brings together the ambassadors of its 22 member states.
“The conference must be held as soon as possible” and, therefore, “this is the time to launch a joint Euro-Arab initiative on the international agenda,” the minister stated before the Council of the Arab League.
The peace conference was proposed by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and has been supported by the 27 EU States and the 22 countries of the Arab League, but it still does not have dates or venue. In this regard, Albares assured the Arab ambassadors that the proposal will be taken up at the next European Council at the end of March and expressed his hope that the next summit of the Arab League, to be held in May in Bahrain, will serve as ” starting point” to launch the common European and Arab proposal.
Before his intervention in the plenary session, Albares held a meeting with the secretary general of the Arab League, Ahmed Abul Gheit, in which he also invited Europeans and Arabs to join their “voices” to solve the region’s problems. For his part, according to a spokesperson for the Arab League, Abul Gheit also highlighted the need to act jointly at the Arab and European level to hold a conference “as soon as possible” that would allow for the “two-state solution” to materialize and urged Spain to lead the recognition of the Palestinian State within the European Union.
Al Sisi and Shoukry
After his meeting with the Arab League, Albares was received by the president of Egypt, Abdelfatah Al Sisi, with whom he spoke about “the excellent bilateral relations between our two countries and the situation in the region,” as the minister explained through the social network X.
According to a spokesperson for the Egyptian Presidency, Al Sisi praised “Spain’s balanced stance” regarding the Middle East and both reiterated “their rejection of the military escalation in the Gaza Strip,” warned against “any military operation in the Palestinian city of Rafah” and highlighted the need for the international community “to take clear and tangible steps to recognize the Palestinian State and grant it full membership in the United Nations, as a basis for the implementation of the two-state solution and to establish regional security and stability ”.
Likewise, the minister was received by his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, before whom he praised, in the subsequent press conference, the “leadership of Egypt” in “negotiations that seek something that Spain has been asking for from the first moment, a halt to the fire”, as well as “the role that Egypt plays in something that Spain also wants to contribute to, which is aid to the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.” “The international community cannot remain impassive and Egypt, together with the US and Qatar, has assumed this from the first moment, putting all its diplomatic machinery at the service of a mediation that seeks this ceasefire and that Spain decisively supports,” he added.
The minister insisted that the international community must “materialize, once and for all, the two-state solution” because it is “the best support for the Palestinian Authority to once again assume the difficult task of rebuilding Gaza when the guns fall silent,” and because “all our peace efforts will be in vain if we do not establish a Palestinian State that coexists in peace and security with a State of Israel.” “The best way to advance this solution is to convene an international peace conference as soon as possible, a Spanish proposal that 90 countries already support,” he reiterated. “Spain knows that it has a firm ally in Egypt to achieve that objective,” he added.
Regarding the role that Israel should play in this process, Albares insisted in the press conference with Shoukry that “Israel is a friendly country of Spain” and, therefore, “all the proposals we make are to bring justice and peace to the people.” Palestinian, but also to bring security and peace to the people of Israel.”
