<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, chaired yesterday in Madrid the so-called “Madrid Meeting: for the implementation of two States”, in which the European Union, the members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group on Gaza and the European countries that have recognized the State of Palestine participated and whose conclusions will be addressed on September 26 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.</strong></h4> The meeting was attended by the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, and representatives of the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. In addition, the European side was represented by the Foreign Ministers of Spain, Norway, Slovenia and a representative of Ireland, and the Contact Group was represented by the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohamed Mustafa; the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, and the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Qatar and Bahrain. Before the meeting, the participants were received by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, at the Moncloa Complex. The meeting was preceded by the visit made on 28 May to Madrid by the Arab-Islamic Contact Group, on the occasion of the recognition of the State of Palestine by Spain. This was the fourth visit to Madrid by the Group since the war in Gaza began as a result of the Hamas attacks on 7 October and the harsh military response by the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting, held at the ministerial headquarters of the Santa Cruz Palace, concluded with the adoption of the so-called “Madrid Declaration”, in which the ministers reiterated their joint commitment to the implementation of the two-state solution as “the only way to establish lasting peace and security”, expressed their support for the ongoing mediation efforts undertaken by Egypt, Qatar and the United States and their rejection of actions aimed at “obstructing this mediation process” and demanded an immediate ceasefire, the delivery of large-scale humanitarian aid and the cessation of all measures that lead to a regional escalation. To this end, the Declaration calls on the parties and all members of the United Nations to participate in the High-Level Event on the Middle East to be held on 26 September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where the conclusions of the Madrid meeting will be discussed. In addition, all participating countries have supported the initiative to convene an international peace conference as soon as possible with the aim of moving towards a two-state solution. It should be “a conference open to the parties and all members of the United Nations committed to these principles,” the text states. “Firm action is needed by the international community against those on both sides who seek to undermine the two-state solution, perpetuate the conflict and spread violence,” Albares said at the press conference prior to the start of the meeting. “If the parties cannot or do not want to achieve peace, the international community must exercise its responsibility and move forward as well,” he added. <h5><strong>Absences and recognition of Israel</strong></h5> At the same press conference, Albares explained, in response to journalists' questions, the reason for the absence of Israel or of European countries that have not yet recognised Palestine, such as France or Germany. The meeting in Madrid, he specified, brought together the “European partners who have been most committed to implementing the two-state solution”, in addition to the Contact Group, the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). “Israel is not invited because it does not belong to either of the two groups”, but “we are delighted that Israel sits, of course, around any table where peace and the implementation of two states are discussed and hopefully, that is what we want, that one day we will see around the table not only those of us who are here but also Israel talking about peace and the implementation of two states”, he declared. Another issue addressed by the minister at the request of the press was the fact that two of the participants in the meeting, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have not yet recognised the State of Israel, which clashes with the two-state solution itself. In this regard, he assured that, “in the same way that we have recognised the State of Palestine and we want the State of Palestine to exist and be a realistic and viable State, we are of course in favour of the normalisation of relations between all Arab countries and Israel.” “I speak on behalf of Spain, not of all those present,” he clarified.
