Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged Spain to recognize Palestine, stressing that this move will help in strengthening peace efforts with Israel.

During a dinner party held with Felipe VI, King of Spain, Abbas expressed gratitude to the Spanish parliament for pushing to recognize Palestine to its government, according to WAFA News.

“We are proud of the position of the Spanish parliament which recommended to its government to recognize the state of Palestine, which is something we hope will happen soon because of its importance to peace efforts in our region and so that Palestine and Israel can live side-by-side in security, stability and good neighborly relations,” Abbas said.

“We are still committed to peace based on international decisions, the Madrid peace conference and the Arab peace initiative. We also support efforts by (US) President (Donald) Trump’s administration to achieve a historic peace deal.”

Abbas arrived to Spain earlier on Sunday in an official visit, where he met the King of Spain, Felipe VI, and his Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy.

Nine out of 28 EU member states recognized Palestine. In 2014, Sweden became the first member to recognize Palestine.