Monaco, the glittering microstate better known for its casinos, yachts, and secretive banking practices, has stepped onto the global stage with an announcement as bizarre as it is irresponsible: on Monday, it formally recognized a Palestinian state.
Prince Albert II of Monaco © Mena Today
Monaco, the glittering microstate better known for its casinos, yachts, and secretive banking practices, has stepped onto the global stage with an announcement as bizarre as it is irresponsible: on Monday, it formally recognized a Palestinian state.
This move, coming from a country routinely accused of harboring dirty money in its financial institutions, reeks of hypocrisy. Before dabbling in Middle Eastern diplomacy, Monaco should clean up its own backyard.
Prince Albert, already entangled in internal disputes and struggling to maintain credibility at home, has more urgent priorities than weighing in on one of the most complex and volatile conflicts in the world. Yet Monaco chose symbolism over substance—and worse, it chose silence over justice.
Monaco opted for a hollow gesture that undermines peace efforts and emboldens extremists. It is a sad spectacle from a country whose international image is already stained by financial opacity and questionable priorities.
If Prince Albert truly wishes to contribute to global stability, he should return to his favored cause—ocean preservation—and leave geopolitics to serious actors. The Middle East deserves thoughtful engagement, not token gestures from a state whose influence ends where the Mediterranean coastline does.
Turkey on Thursday strongly rejected the newly signed maritime demarcation agreement between Lebanon and Cyprus, arguing that the deal ignores the rights of Turkish Cypriots and therefore cannot be accepted.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan praised Pope Leo's stance on the Palestinian issue after meeting him in Ankara on Thursday, and said he hoped his first overseas visit as Catholic leader will benefit humanity at a time of tension and uncertainty.
Pope Leo lamented that the world was seeing an unusual number of bloody conflicts during his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday, and he warned that a third world war was being "fought piecemeal" with humanity's future at risk.
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