Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has said he is ready to approve the recognition of a Palestinian state if the government moves forward with such a proposal, AFP reports.

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

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 recognise the Palestinian state, I am prepared to approve it,” Stubb said, deploring an “inhumane” situation in Gaza.

He said 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 recognising a Palestinian state.