RAMALLAH, Friday, November 13, 2020 (WAFA) – Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva today stressed her country’s firm position in support of the Mideast peace process based on the two-state solution.

Speaking in a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Riyad Malki at the Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry in Ramallah, Zaharieva stated that her country looks forward to playing a significant role to make progress towards peacemaking thanks to its good relations with Palestine and Israel.

She expressed her hopes that the upcoming US administration would facilitate the peace process for the benefit of both the Palestinian and Israeli peoples on the security and economic levels and to help achieve the two-state solution.

Commenting on the deep bilateral Palestinian-Bulgarian relations, Zaharieva said that her country’s relations with the Palestinian government are focused on bolstering cooperation in education, including offering scholarships to students, and signing trade agreements, indicating that Palestine remains one of the top priorities on her government’s agenda.  

She also extended her condolences on the passing of PLO senior official, Saeb Erekat, who died after contracting Covid-19.

The press conference followed a joint meeting which was saw the signature of several cooperation agreements in the fields of culture, education, science and youth and sports.

In his talks with Zaharieva, Malki addressed the regional situation and political landscape in the post-US-presidential-elections period, including the elections impacts on the Palestinian arena, the possibility of resuming peace talks.

He also touched upon the bilateral Palestinain-Bulgarian relations and the means to convene the first session of the Joint Palestinian-Bulgarian Government Committee.

He thanked Bulgaria for its firm positions on the Palestinian people’s rights and achieving the two-state solution based on international law and the United Nations resolutions, as well as for its opposition to the Israeli policy of colonial settlement construction, support to the United Nations responsible for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), and scholarships to Palestinian students pursing the education in Bulgarian universities.

The top Palestinian diplomat expressed his appreciation to Bulgaria for its position in support of reaching a negotiated settlement based on international law, the UN resolutions, and other resolutions condemning Israel’s illegal annexation move and colonial settlement construction, and described Palestinian-Bulgarian relations as continuously developing.

K.F.