UNITED NATIONS -- Malta told a high-level U.N. meeting Wednesday that it will formally recognize the state of Palestine in September, joining France and the United Kingdom in stepping up pressure to end the nearly 80-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Also Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in Toronto that Canada will recognize a Palestinian state in September.

Christopher Cutajar, the permanent secretary at Malta's Foreign Ministry, made the announcement at the U.N. General Assembly's meeting on a two-state solution to the conflict that has been extended to a third day because of the high number of countries wanting to speak.

Cutajar said Malta has long supported self-determination for the Palestinian people, and "as responsible actors, we have a duty to work to translate

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