The analysis of participation in the Board of Peace initiated by the US President Donald Trump also takes into account its complementarity with the United Nations and includes, alongside the legal component, a political dimension, Foreign Affairs Minister Oana Toiu said on Tuesday at the press conference dedicated to the launch of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the European Union, held in Bucharest.
She stressed that there is ongoing dialogue among European leaders on the Board of Peace.
"While there are national analyses, there is of course also a European-level analysis on the table of all presidents and foreign ministers from the invited countries, as well as from the other European Union member states," the minister said.
According to Toiu, the analysis is not limited to legal aspects, but also includes political and geostrategic components.
"Ultimately, it is quite clear what we want in Romania and at European Union level: we want to continue to have a multilateral system - the United Nations - that is able to fulfil the mission for which it was created, especially given that we have a conflict on our border, as well as many other conflicts around the world in which the United Nations is currently involved," she explained.
The clarification process with the United States of America concerns future plans for this Board of Peace, the minister noted.
"There are two components. The first concerns the Gaza Strip, where the legal framework is very clear, as there is a UN Security Council resolution that mandates President Donald Trump to create this board of peace It is absolutely necessary in the next steps to stabilise the situation there, as well as for reconstruction. (...) What we need in the coming period is to clarify not only the intentions, but also the governance framework, financing and complementarity with the United Nations, as opposed to the risk of overlapping activities and funding sources, which could weaken mandates," the head of Romanian diplomacy added.
According to her, "Romania is one of the few countries in the world that has had and continues to have uninterrupted diplomatic relations with both Israel and Palestine, which ensures a strong capacity for dialogue in the region, and this is one of the ways in which we want to continue to contribute".
She called for the continuation of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, as well as for the disarmament of Hamas.
"Romania's position has always been clear: Hamas is a terrorist organisation, and we do not see a future for it in the political organisation of Palestine. This is also the message we conveyed to the Palestinian foreign minister when we discussed this issue last year," Foreign Minister Toiu said.
Oana Toiu also underlined that an analysis of possible membership in the Board of Peace cannot be carried out "over a weekend".
"These types of analyses, both legal and those concerning medium- and long-term implications, are very difficult to conduct over a weekend. (...) At the level of Romania, the European Union and several international partners, discussions are currently under way to clarify future compatibility between an expanded effort by the Peace Board that would go beyond the Gaza conflict and the international mechanisms and treaties, as well as the institutions to which Romania has already acceded," Toiu said.
She added that the legal analysis conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been sent to Cotroceni Presidential Palace ahead of each stage, but that for some of the questions "the answers are not found in the text as it was transmitted, and these questions require ongoing dialogue with the United States, not only at bilateral level, but also at European level".
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