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Finnish President Tarja Halonen has spoken out strongly in support of Palestinian statehood. According to the president, the Palestinians have a right to their own independent state.
Halonen urged for a swift solution to the Middle East conflict during her speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. She said that the UN should stand united behind the formation of a Palestinian state.
"Negotiations should continue soon and they should lead, within an agreed time frame, to a two-state solution, under which the state of Israel and the independent, democratic and functional Palestinian state would live side by side in peace and security," Halonen said.
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas has announced that he plans to present the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with an application for UN recognition of Palestinian statehood on Friday. The US has said it will veto the application in the Security Council. According to US President Barack Obama, a solution can only be found through Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
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