Finnish president says he is ready to OK Palestine recognition if government goes ahead with move

HELSINKI, Finland — Finland’s President Alexander Stubb says he is ready to approve recognition of a Palestinian state if the government moves forward with such a proposal.

Many countries, including France and Canada, have pledged to recognize a Palestinian state at the 80th UN General Assembly in September.

“The decisions by France, the United Kingdom and Canada reinforce the trend towards recognizing Palestine as part of efforts to breathe new life into the peace process,” Stubb says in a post to X.

Finland’s president, elected for six years, has limited powers but helps coordinate the country’s foreign policy in close cooperation with the government.

“If I receive a proposal to recognize the Palestinian state, I am prepared to approve it,” Stubb says, deploring an “inhumane” situation in Gaza.

He says he understood that Finns had “different opinions on the recognition of Palestine, and that there is also concern,” calling for an “open” and “honest” debate.

The far-right Finns Party and the Christian Democrats oppose recognizing a Palestinian state.

Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Friday reiterated Helsinki’s support for a two-state solution, without specifying whether the government was ready to recognize a Palestinian state.

Discussions on foreign policy and the Middle East with the president would continue up to the UN conference at the end of September, he said.