Sweden will not participate in ‘board of peace’: PM
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has told reporters in Davos his country will not participate in Trump’s “board of peace” initiative under the text presented so far.
Norway and France have also said they won’t join the initiative, which was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of post-war Gaza, amid concerns Trump intends for the body to replace the UN, which he has repeatedly criticised.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday: “Yes to implementing the peace plan presented by the president of the United States, which we wholeheartedly support, but no to creating an organisation as it has been presented, which would replace the United Nations.”
The rejections have come amid soaring tensions between Washington and its European NATO partners over Trump’s stated intention to annex Greenland. As we reported earlier, Netanyahu said he accepted the invitation to join the board, which would comprise world leaders and be chaired for life by Trump.
Norway won’t participate in Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’
Norway’s government says it will not join the “Board of Peace” initiated by President Trump, who has vented his frustration at the Nordic country after being snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“The American proposal raises a number of questions” requiring “further dialogue with the United States”, State Secretary Kristoffer Thoner said in a statement.
“Norway will therefore not join the proposed arrangements for the board of peace, and will therefore not attend a signing ceremony in Davos,” Thoner added.
In a message to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store on Monday, Trump said that, since having been denied the Nobel Peace Prize, he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of peace”.
Minister sees problems with Italy joining Trump’s ‘board of peace’
Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti says it appears problematic for Italy to join the so-called board of peace promoted by US President Donald Trump to govern Gaza.
Speaking at an event in Rome to present the Winter Olympics being held in Italy next month, Giorgetti said, judging from news reports he read, “it seems there are some problems” regarding Italy’s participation.
He didn’t elaborate.
Criticism is growing in the international community that Trump intends to use his Gaza “board of peace” to eventually replace the United Nations.
