Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians cannot be allowed to simmer indefinitely, and it’s time for both parties to return to the negotiating table for peace talks, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said Friday amid warnings from European leaders that the potential of a two-state solution is in serious jeopardy.

“The status quo isn’t sustainable,” Dion said during a teleconference from Paris on Friday.

It’s been two years since peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians collapsed in April 2014. At the time, the Israelis balked at continuing discussions after Palestinians brought in the Islamist Hamas party to form a unity government, while the Palestinians expressed outrage at what they said was Israel’s backtracking on a pledge to free prisoners.

Tensions have grown since then as Israel continues building settlements on territory Palestinians claim is theirs, with both sides lashing out in street violence.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned at the conference that the international community must act now to revive the two-state solution before it is too late.

“We must act, urgently,” Ayrault stressed, saying the two-state solution as it stands now is in “serious danger” and that participants in the conference have agreed to work towards economic and security incentives for getting both parties to come to an agreement.

Neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians sent representatives to the Paris talks, which included envoys from 29 states including US Secretary of State John Kerry and representatives from the European Union, United Nations, the Arab League and the Middle East Quartet, all aiming to get the peace talks up and running again before the end of the year.

Dion read a joint statement agreed upon by the participants during his teleconference with reporters, while acknowledging the challenges of getting both parties to the table given the heightened tensions between them now.

“The difficulty should not be used as an excuse to postpone the negotiations,” Dion said, stressing that Canada believes it is critical to ensure there are opportunities for Israeli and Palestinian youth and that the Government of Canada will remain at the table to help foster discussions between the two parties to arrive at a two-state solution.

“There is only one solution, and it is a two-state solution,” he said.

“We should focus all our efforts on this solution — there is no other one.”