Sánchez: "There are two possible paths: escalation or international legality and diplomacy. We opt for the second"

Ljubljana (Slovenia)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the Slovenian Prime Minister, Robert Golob, greet each other (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

Pedro Sánchez has held a meeting with the Slovenian Prime Minister, Robert Golob, whom he thanked for the commitment and good spirit with which the country always approaches bilateral relations between the two countries. The President of the Government also highlighted Slovenia's coherence and courage regarding finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Gaza.

During the meeting, Sanchez and Golob shared their concern about the inhumane, unacceptable and unsustainable situation in the Strip. "The territory has now been under attack and bombardment for more than six months. There have been 33,000 deaths and 2 million people are hungry, thirsty, cold and afraid," said the president.

Both leaders highlighted the value of the communiqué signed by the two countries at the last European Council, together with Ireland and Malta, in which they announced their commitment to recognising the Palestinian state when the circumstances are right to do so and in a way that can have the most positive impact on the peace process. Pedro Sánchez has reiterated Spain's commitment to recognising Palestine, confident that doing so will send a message of hope to both the millions of suffering Gazans and other Western countries.

In this regard, the president and the Slovenian Prime Minister agreed that their respective countries will continue to demand an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages, respect for international law and access for humanitarian aid, and that they will advocate a two-state solution as the only possible way to achieve a just peace in the region. In this context, they announced that to facilitate the fruition of such a solution, both countries will this week support Palestinian accession to full membership in the UN.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez. during his joint appearance with the Prime Minister of Slovenia, Robert Golob | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

Pedro Sánchez also reiterated his condemnation of Iran's attack on Israel, underlining that it constitutes an unprecedented escalation of the conflict and a serious threat to regional security. "This is another sign of the risk we are facing," he said.

The president said that there are two possible paths: the path of escalation, which will lead to a spiral of violence with no other finality than misery, pain and resentment; and the path of commitment to international legality and diplomacy, which is the only path that can lead to sustainable peace and security. "We have chosen the second one. We did it a long time ago," he defended.

Non official translation