Iceland and Palestine’s foreign ministers met yesterday to formalise relations between their respective countries.
While parliament last month passed the measure recognising Palestine as an independent and sovereign nation, yesterday’s meeting between Icelandic Foreign Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson and Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr. Riad Malki officially sealed the deal, Vísir reports.
A statement from the from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs adds that Iceland recognises the state of Palestine as it existed according to pre-1967 borders. A significant portion of Palestinian territory fell under Israeli control in the wake of the Six Day War of that year.
Össur told reporters that Iceland’s recognition of the Palestinian state was “a matter of justice”. Dr. Malki thanked Iceland for the support, saying that the decision was very meaningful to Palestine. Iceland being the first western European nation to formally recognise the Palestinian state, he hopes, will have an influence on other nations in the region to follow suit.
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