"Malta remains a firm believer in a two-state solution for the Palestinians," Foreign Minister Ian Borg said on Wednesday after Donald Trump's shock announcement that he wants the United States to take over Gaza and turn it into a Mediterranean riviera, with many Palestinians being resettled.

"We are keen to continue to serve as a positive contributor towards peace in the Middle East, within the international fora. This can be reached through a whole process aimed at having both peoples living side-by-side in harmony," the minister told Times of Malta in a written statement.

Earlier, when approached for a reaction to Trump's remarks while walking out of Parliament, Borg replied that: "We have our foreign policy and every country has their own policies."  

Foreign Minister Ian Borg reacts to Trump's announcement about the Gaza strip.

He would not say if the Maltese government spoke to the US diplomatic representatives in Malta over the issue.

Malta has supported the two-state solution since 1988 and last year it came close to recognising a Palestinian state. It has had an envoy in the Palestinian territories based in Ramallah for years.

The Palestinian Authority also has a diplomatic presence in Malta.

Trump's announcement drew a furious reaction, with most European countries insisting on the two-state solution as the best and fairest way forward. The Palestinians and Middle East leaders also strongly rejected the plan.

The Arab League said Trump's plan was a recipe for instability. China said it opposed the "forced transfer" of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the Gaza Strip "belongs to the Palestinians". UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Palestinians in Gaza must be allowed home. "They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution," he told the UK parliament.  

But Trump insisted Wednesday that everybody loved his shock proposal.

"Everybody loves it," he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Malta has recently affirmed its readiness to recognise Palestine, "when such recognition can make a positive contribution, and when the circumstances are right." 

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