Brussels, 26/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - At the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday 25 September, the presidents of the Republic of Cyprus, Finland, Bulgaria and France called for negotiations to be resumed between Israel and Palestine.
Cypriot President Demetris Christofias underlined that it was “imperative to return to the negotiating table” to reach a two-state solution, with a free and independent Palestine on one side and a Jewish state in security on the other, according to the 1967 borders. “There is no valid solution without political dialogue”, he said. His Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinistö, also calling for a resumption of negotiations for a sustainable solution, recalled that the Israeli settlements were illegal in the view of international law and go against peace. Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev called on the two parties “to abstain from unilateral action” which would go against the peace process. According to French President François Hollande, France “will engage in restoring the bases” for the negotiations (our translation throughout).
American President Barack Obama also called for a political solution, saying that peace should come through a fair agreement between the parties. However Qatar Emir Hamad ben Khalifa al-Thani called for sanctions against Israel, for non-respect of the UN resolutions. (CG/transl.fl)