RAMALLAH, Thursday, June 23, 2022 (WAFA) - Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Malki today held separate meetings in Ramallah with visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, Ivan Korcok, during which they discussed the latest political developments and bilateral relations.
The discussion between the Prime Minister and his guest focused on the importance of halting the unilateral Israeli measures including the policy of killing Palestinians, demolishing homes, storming Al-Aqsa Mosque, escalation in settlement construction, and settlers’ terrorism, stressing the need to fill the political vacuum through a serious political initiative that ends the occupation and leads to the establishment of the Palestinian state.
The Prime Minister called for exerting international pressure on Israel to abide by the signed agreements in order to start a political process that would enable the Palestinians to hold elections in all the governorates, including Jerusalem.
He also stressed the need to take serious measures against Israel, to deter it from continuing in measures destructive to the two-state solution, considering that the labeling of the illegal settlement products is a positive step but needs to be evolved into a full boycott of settlements, its products, and those in charge of them.
The Prime Minister called for protecting the international law and to make sure it is applied in all regions of the world, explaining: "When the occupation is mentioned in the world, there must be talk about Israel first, and when mentioning the violation of international law and human rights, there must be talk about Israel first."
Shtayyeh expressed appreciation for the Slovakian support for Palestine and its support regarding the resumption of European aid without conditions.
The two sides also discussed the prospects for economic cooperation between their two countries and the possibility of arranging mutual visits for businessmen from the two countries. They also discussed raising the level of academic exchange between their two countries by providing scholarships and student exchange.
For his part, Foreign Minister Korcok stressed the depth of the relationship between the two countries and the quest to consolidate relations in the economic and academic fields, as well as his country's continued support for the two-state solution.
Foreign Minister Riyad Malki also met separately at his Ramallah office with his Slovakian counterpart during which they discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian territory as well as the escalation in violations by Israeli occupation forces and settlers against Palestinian citizens, their properties, farms, and holy places.
Korcok told his Palestinian counterpart that the representative of Slovakia to Palestine would be reassigned from a non-resident to a resident representative.
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