(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) MADRID, Sept 4 (KUNA) -- Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell announced on Tuesday doubling his country's financial aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The move came on the backdrop of the United States decision of halting its finance to the agency.
In a joint press conference with Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyadh Al-Maliki held at the headquarters of the Spanish Foreign Ministry earlier today, Borelle said "Spain raised its financial support to UNRWA from one up to two million euros", adding "This is a very humble support compared to the agency's need." Borrell denounced US accusations to UNRWA of being a corrupt agency and an obstacle in the road to achieving peace, saying that such accusations are more dangerous than cutting the aid.
He expressed Spain's extreme concern over the US abandonment of its role as a trusted mediator in the Middle East.
Spain contributed a total of EUR 127 million to UNRWA within a period of 16 years before the financial crisis that stormed the country and urged it to decrease its financing dramatically, the Spanish top diplomat pointed out.
Meanwhile, Al-Maliki expressed his concern over the US support to Israel, and abandoning its mediator role.
The latest US practices reflected its bias towards the Israel side and thus cannot perform any more the fair mediator role, he noted.
Al-Maliki praised distinguished bilateral ties with Spain, being a key player in Europe and in supporting the two-state solution, expressing his thanks for increasing its finance to UNRWA.
The Trump administration is moving forward with plans to cancel all US funding of the UN aid program for Palestinian refugees, administration officials revealed late Thursday.
The US would call for a sharp reduction in the number of Palestinians recognized as refugees, dropping it from more than five million to less than a tenth of that number, according to officials familiar with the decision. (end) hnd.lb
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