The Czech Republic has received an invitation to join the so-called ‘Board of Peace’, which was formally launched yesterday by US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, with invited senior politicians present.
The Czech invitation was announced by government spokeswoman Karla Mrackova, responding to a question from CTK.
Trump has invited a number of world leaders to join the new group. He claims that everyone would like to be part of it, and that representatives from 59 countries have already signed the document, though according to the AP news agency, only 19 officials attended the inaugural ceremony in Davos.
The founding members who signed the document included Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Argentine President Javier Milei and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
On the other hand, France, Sweden, and Norway are among countries which have announced that they will not join at this time.
Trump is expected to become the first chair of the group, deciding which countries will be invited to join. According to US officials, a fee of $1 billion would be charged for permanent membership of the body. Membership for three years would be offered free of charge, AP news agency reported.
The Board should first focus on enforcing a new post-war administration of the Gaza Strip, but Trump intends for it to also address other conflicts.
On Monday, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) said the Czech Republic had not yet received an invitation. He added that the fee for permanent membership is unthinkable for the Czech state budget.
During a visit to the Olomouc region yesterday, Czech President Petr Pavel said the Czech Republic should only comment on membership in the Board of Peace after reviewing the conditions and its powers. He added that no-one has yet seen the Board’s statute or mandate, and almost nothing is known about it.
Pavel pointed out the hefty fee that would be charged for long-term membership of the group, and that Trump had appointed himself as head of the council with veto power. “It will certainly be interesting, when we consider this invitation, to assess what such a board would serve, under what conditions, with what powers, according to what rules, and only then to comment on it,” Pavel said.
Pavel noted that the ‘Board of Peace’ had originally been announced as a temporary replacement administration for the Gaza Strip. “Now it seems that Donald Trump sees it more as a replacement or bypass for the United Nations, or possibly the UN Security Council,” he said. “No-one from the countries that were approached, or at least I haven’t heard of anyone, saw any statute or mandate for such a board.”
