Slovenia supports mediation between the sides involved and believes it is premature to talk about the final status of Palestine in the UN, the president said in response to a question about Slovenia's stance on the Palestinians' bid for full-fledged membership of the UN or for a status of a non-member state.

"The EU, of which Slovenia is a member, is mediating between Israel and the Palestinians and other players in order to reach a solution that would be satisfactory at the moment. The process is ongoing and Slovenia supports it like all other EU members, so it's too soon at the moment to talk about the final outcome of the process, the final status of Palestine in the UN."

The president's position at the moment agrees with the position of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who opted neither for nor against the recognition of a Palestinian state at a press conference arguing that a request has not been submitted yet.

Tuerk is not surprised by the Palestinian's bid for membership of the UN, which the US has already announced to veto in the UN Security Council, considering that "the peace process has been stalled for a long time, and the pressure for change is growing".

"The move is therefore not surprising and is in a way not only expected but also legitimate. It is true though that a solution needs to be found in talks that would best suit the search for peace and at the same time the realisation of the Palestinian nation's legitimate rights."

An intensive diplomatic campaign was under way in new York on Sunday in a bid to move the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and to avert problems that would arise if the Palestinians filed a request for membership of the UN as announced by President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday.

The Slovenian president was planned to address the UN General Assembly on Thursday, but his address was rescheduled to Wednesday, when the general debate of the 66th session starts and the General Assembly is also to be addressed by US President Barack Obama.

On Monday, Tuerk will take part in a high-level meeting on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, a working meeting hosted by heads of states and governments of the Caribbean Community, and a reception upon the presentation of "South-South Awards".

On his way to New York, Tuerk met at Frankfurt airport the Chairman of the Commission of the African Union, Jean Ping, for talks dominated by Libya.

He will participate in Tuesday's meeting of the Group of Friends of the New Libya hosted by the UN secretary-general. This is the first such high-level meeting that Slovenia has been invited to attend.

Tuerk will also discuss Libya with the secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi.