• 'Malta was amongst the first to call for a permanent ceasefire, with the ultimate objective remaining the two-state solution,' says Ian Borg

MUNICH

The foreign ministers of Ireland and Malta reiterated the need for full implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, stressing the importance of a two-state solution as the "ultimate objective."

Simon Harris, the Irish tanaiste or foreign minister, told Anadolu that it is important that all parties to the ceasefire work to fully implement it.

"I think it is somewhat encouraging and hopeful that we see the names of the hostages that are due to be released tomorrow (Saturday)," he said on the sidelines of the three-day Munich Security Conference, which ends Sunday.

Harris added that it is "absolutely vital" that all the hostages are returned to their families, and it is "absolutely vital" that all parts of the ceasefire deal are upheld by everyone.

"We need to get to a point where the ceasefire holds and then we can start talking about reconstruction, about aid, about governance and security in Gaza," he said.

Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ian Borg said he hoped to get to a point where there would be a permanent ceasefire.

"We hope that parties to the agreement stick to what they have agreed and to see the release of the hostages, the ceasefire to persist," he told Anadolu.

"Malta was amongst the first to call for a permanent ceasefire, with the ultimate objective remaining the two-state solution," he said.

The death toll from Israel’s genocidal onslaught since October 2023 has risen to 48,222, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Wednesday.

A ceasefire agreement has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, halting the Israeli war that has caused widespread destruction and left the Palestinian enclave in ruins.

Last November the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

On the war in Ukraine, now just shy of its third anniversary, Borg said that ending the war is important.

"It's important that the peace reached would be a just and the lasting one respecting, of course, Ukraine that was invaded and the victim in all this," he said.

His remarks came as the possibility of a peace deal talks looms large at Munich after US President Donald Trump held separate telephone phone calls Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a bid to end the war.​​​​​​​