Plenković: Croatia still needs time to analyze President Trump's ‘Board of Peace’ initiative

In an interview with French television station France 24 on Saturday, the Croatia Prime Minister was asked to comment on the ‘Board of Peace’ organization recently established by US President Donald Trump. According to President Trump, he would chair the Board of Peace that would ostensibly deal with conflict resolution around the world.

In the interview Prime Minister Andrej Plenković confirmed that Croatia had received an invitation to join the ‘Board of peace’, but that the invitation was received on Tuesday, and as such Croatia was unable to immediately sign a document of this kind due to constitutional and legal restrictions. He added that Croatia had informed its American partners that it would study the text and analyze the relationship of the Peace Committee to the existing structures of the United Nations.

Some sixty countries received an invitation to join the organization, with twenty countries signing the board's charter, including EU member states Bulgaria and Hungary. Another six countries, including Egypt, Israel and Belarus, have announced plans to accept the invitation; while 26 others have not yet responded. Among these are Russia and China, the latter of which has warned against creating parallel structures that could undermine the role of the United Nations. The largest EU member states, such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain have declines President' Trump's invitation to join the body, while Trump has withdrawn his invitation to Canada.

On Friday President Zoran Milanović invited Prime Minister Plenković to consultations on joining the ‘Board of Peace’ so as to avoid any potential ‘unconstitutional’ independent action by the government. In a statement issued by the Office of the President it was made clear that government must first reach an agreement with the president before any final decision on joining such an initiative can be made. The statement further noted that President Milanović expects Prime Minister Plenković to provide him with all of the relevant information on this strategically important foreign policy issue, so that a position can be agreed upon between the President and the Government before any decision is made.

Meanwhile, SDP leader Siniša Hajdaš Dončić has said that he is very pleased that the open letter he issued yesterday had prompted Prime Minister Plenković to announce a detailed analysis of the international legal aspects of Croatia's potential accession to President Trump's ‘Board of Peace’. He added that in a time when the rules-based international order is being pulled apart and rearranged, it is important that the Government, the Office of the President and the Parliament, cooperate in making decisions that could have a long-term impact on the country's future.

Source: HRT