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Tsahkna meeting with the Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs: two-state solution needed to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

10.06.2025 | 13:35

Today 10 June, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Palestine Varsen Ohannes Vartan Aghabekian in Tallinn to discuss the situation in the Middle East and cooperation between Estonia and Palestine.

At the meeting, Tsahkna emphasised that Estonia continues to take the view that the two-state solution is necessary to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East.

The ministers discussed violence by Israeli settlers, which aims, above all, to obstruct the economic activities of Palestinians and take over their lands. "Estonia condemns the expansion of settlements created in breach of international law on the West Bank," Tsahkna said, adding that the EU has imposed restrictive measures on violent settlers. "Estonia supports these measures and also supports the addition of new individuals to the sanctioned list if sufficient evidence is available."

Tsahkna asked Aghabekian about the options the Palestinian Authority sees for peace in Gaza and the two-state solution. He said he hoped that diplomatic efforts would continue and lead to an end to the war in Gaza. "We have condemned the terrorist attacks against Israel and called for the release of hostages," Tsahkna said. "However, when fighting terrorist organisations, attacks on the civilian population must be avoided at all costs and international humanitarian law must be respected."

Despite limited resources, Estonia has continued to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza and the wider region through various international aid organisations. Last week, Estonia decided to allocate €50 000 divided equally between the UN Population Fund and the Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund.

The allocation follows the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There are 2.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Gaza. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is steadily deteriorating as Israel has effectively suspended humanitarian access since 2 March. Since 2023, Estonia has allocated a total of €330 000 for humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip through six different organisations.

"Humanitarian aid must reach those in need, and blocking it and obstructing the work of the UN and independent aid organisations is unacceptable," the foreign minister stressed. "There is a need to open more border crossing points, to lift restrictions on the import of essential supplies by humanitarian organisations, and to ensure that aid convoys are allowed to move and that the distribution of aid is not disrupted."