FMs of 15 countries urge to recognize Palestinian state

Fourteen nations have joined France's call on countries worldwide to recognize an independent Palestinian state, the French Foreign Ministry said.

The foreign ministers of the 15 countries late Tuesday issued a joint statement following a conference in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving a two-state solution between Israelis and the Palestinians.

"We, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, and Spain, reiterate our unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution," the statement reads.

According to the statement, the signatories underlined that two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, must coexist peacefully within secure and internationally recognized borders, in line with international law and relevant U.N. resolutions.

They also encouraged states to strengthen ties with Israel and expressed determination to work on an architecture for the 'day after' in Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from the Palestinian governance.