Finland joins declaration backing two-state solution for Israel, Palestine

Palestinians children struggling with hunger in Gaza: Finland is joining a declaration on a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian question and implementation of a two-state solution. (Photo/AA)

Finland is joining a declaration on a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian question and implementation of a two-state solution, the Nordic country has said in a statement.

"The process led by France and Saudi Arabia is the most significant international effort in years to create the conditions for a two-state solution," Finland's foreign minister Elina Valtonen said on X on Friday.

I have today decided that Finland will join the New York Declaration on the peaceful settlement of the Question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution, prepared by France and Saudi Arabia.

The process led by France and Saudi Arabia is the most significant…
— Elina Valtonen (@elinavaltonen) September 5, 2025

The declaration is the result of an international conference at the UN in July, hosted by Saudi Arabia and France on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event.

The first step outlined in the declaration is to end the nearly two-year-long war between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia and France have called on countries at the United Nations to support the declaration that outlines "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" towards implementing a two-state solution.

Unlike some other European nations, such as Spain and Norway, Finland has not recognised Palestine as a state. The Finnish coalition government is internally divided over formal recognition.