Blanar: Slovakia Declined Membership of Board of Peace, Attended It as Observer

Brussels, 24 February (TASR) - Slovakia has clearly declined to participate in US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace as a member, and, based on an invitation, it attended its first meeting in Washington last week only as an observer, said Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar following a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday (23 February). "The Slovak Republic has clearly refused to participate in the Board of Peace as a member. However, we received an invitation to be an observer of this board, which we accepted, and, on the basis of this invitation, I took part in its first meeting in Washington last week," explained Blanar. According to Blanar, Slovakia has reservations about the Board of Peace, such as the fact that Palestine isn't represented in it in any way. "We also have reservations about other things related to the fact that the mandate extends beyond Gaza, even though the resolution on the basis of which the Board of Peace was established clearly states that it should concern only Gaza," said Blanar. However, the minister views it as the only peaceful solution currently on the table, claiming that it's important for Slovakia to stand by it. "Slovakia is promoting a peaceful solution, including in this region, so we supported it as an observer country and will be closely monitoring it. If we can contribute in any way, we'll be very glad to do so," stated Blanar. The European Union is the largest donor of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, but it plays second fiddle and is unable to contribute to the negotiations, stated the minister. "In fact, some EU members have criticised EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica, who attended that meeting in Washington, which is incomprehensible for me," said Blanar. ko/df