Lapid to EU: With You on Two-State Solution—But Not Right Now

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday that he supports a two-state solution for the Palestinians, but that conditions aren’t ready for it yet.

“It is no secret that I support a two-state solution. Unfortunately there is no current plan for this. However, there is one thing we all need to remember. If there is eventually a Palestinian state, it must be a peace-loving democracy. We cannot be asked to take part in the building of another threat to our lives,” Lapid explained to the 26 European foreign ministers in the first speech given at the body by an Israeli official since Tzipi Livni in 2008.

“What we need to do now is make sure that no steps are taken that will prevent the possibility of peace in the future, and we need to improve the lives of Palestinians. Whatever is humanitarian, I will be for it. Everything that builds the Palestinian economy, I am for it,” he said.

Prior to that, Lapid also met in Brussels with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday. He expressed his desire to deepen ties with NATO and declared Israel’s readiness to support the alliance on matters of intelligence, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, climate change, maritime security, missile defense, and civilian emergency management. He also invited Stoltenberg to visit Israel.

After the hour-long talk with Stoltenberg, Lapid was scheduled to hold brief meetings with his counterparts from Germany, France, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.