Blanar Opposes Slovakia Joining Board of Peace, Can't See How It Would Work
Bratislava, 27 January (TASR) - Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar (Smer-SD), speaking at a session of the House committee for European affairs on Tuesday, said that he'll oppose Slovakia joining the Board of Peace and that he can't imagine such a body functioning.
"There are several things that we find disturbing with respect to the proposal," said Blanar about the Board of Peace.
He pointed out that Slovakia has recognised Palestine and considers a two-state solution in the Gaza Strip to be the ideal outcome and that all steps should lead towards this.
According to Blanar, Slovakia is therefore concerned by the fact that the Palestinian Authority won't be represented in the Board of Peace. He stated that Slovakia's ambition is for peace to prevail in Gaza as soon as possible. He also noted that the proposal doesn't explicitly state that it will deal solely with the war in Gaza.
"We can't agree to creating some kind of parallel UN here," said the head of Slovak diplomacy, adding that the idea of Donald Trump becoming the lifetime chair of the board with the power of veto in the absence of a unified position among the board members is undemocratic.
"I'll oppose our joining the Board of Peace, I'm saying this quite openly because I can't imagine such a thing functioning, but we'll monitor how it all develops," he stated.
He explained that Slovakia must assess the invitation to the Board of Peace. "The assessment is under way in view of the domestic legislative framework and our commitments. We'll provide information shortly concerning what our position is on accession to this organisation," he added.
The minister appeared before the committee ahead of Thursday's (29 January) session of the EU Foreign Affairs Council. He expects a discussion on the current peace talks on Ukraine and the EU's engagement in the process.
He reiterated that Slovakia condemns any attacks on infrastructure and civilians and wants to continue providing humanitarian assistance.
The committee members also asked about the so-called coalition of the willing. The minister rejects the creation of a new security architecture, as NATO already exists. He also commented on the situation in Iran, from where he ordered the evacuation of Slovakia's diplomatic mission and its relocation to Azerbaijan.
"We've signed up to a joint statement by the EU 27 in which we condemned all attacks against demonstrators," he said, adding that Slovakia condemns the actions of the Iranian government and its top leadership against the protesters.
