ISTANBUL, May 22. /TASS/. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has commended several European countries for deciding to recognize Palestine as a state, and called on other nations to follow suit.

"We are very pleased that Spain, Ireland and Norway have announced their decision to recognize the Palestinian state. International law, justice and conscience demand recognizing Palestine. This is an extremely important step in terms of restoring the usurped rights of the Palestinian people who are living under foreign occupation and achieving the status that Palestine deserves as part of the international community," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to the document, Turkey will continue working to make sure that as many countries as possible recognize Palestine as a state.

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said in late April that several European Union countries would recognize the Palestinian state before the end of May. The State of Palestine is currently recognized as a sovereign country by 143 of the 193 United Nations member states, including Russia. As for EU nations, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden have already recognized the Palestinian state.