EC president casts "serious doubts" on Board of Peace's compatibility with UN charter

President of the European Council António Costa has expressed the organization's concerns about the incompatibility of the UN Charter with the charter of Donald Trump’s initiative for Gaza, the Board of Peace. 

Costa’s remarks were delivered at a press conference following an extraordinary summit of Council members on January 23, Caliber.Az reports.

Among several issues, Costa spoke with hesitation about the Peace Council for the resolution of the issues relating to Gaza that was established by the US president within the framework of the latest ceasefire agreement.

“We have serious doubts regarding a number of provisions of the Peace Council’s charter relating to its mandate, governance, and compliance with the UN Charter," the EU official revealed.

While he did reiterate that the EU Council stands "ready to cooperate" with the US in "implementing a comprehensive peace plan for Gaza," he expressed serious doubts about a number of elements in the charter of the Board of Peace related to its scope, its governance and its compatibility with the UN Charter.

Costa also emphasised that the EU organ would offer its support to the US administration as long as the Board was carrying out its mission "as a transitional administration in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2803."

The resolution that the EC president refers to was passed on November 17 by the UN Security Council with 13 votes and gave effect to the Gaza peace plan agreed by Israel and the Hamas militant group. Both Russia and China abstained from the voting process.

The US president invited several dozen government leaders from across the globe to join the Gaza board. A signing ceremony was conducted on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev being one of the first leaders to join the alliance.

By Nazrin Sadigova