US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that President Karol Nawrocki told him that he “would like to sign the document regarding the Peace Council, but – as Trump noted – he must turn to parliament.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was also said to have expressed his willingness to join the Council.
On the way back from Davos, journalists asked Trump whether he thought it was possible for countries such as Great Britain or France to join the Peace Council created by the US president.
– Well, I think they will. (…) Some countries have a ban, they have to turn to their legislative authorities (…). In most countries, the prime minister or president can sign it. You saw many of them today. Please do not forget that the letter (with invitation) was sent two days ago. We already had almost 30 people from very important countries, Trump replied.
– But there are some countries, such as Italy… (The Prime Minister) told me she wants to sign. (…) But I think he needs to turn to his legislative authorities. And it was the same with Poland. (President) He said: we want it, Trump said.
– He's great, by the way. Karol is doing a great job. But he has to get consent. Some people need to get consent, others don't have to, added the US president. He reiterated that the Peace Council would deal with the Gaza Strip and possibly other matters as well.
Domański: There is not a billion dollars in the budget for the Peace Council
There is certainly not a billion dollars in the budget for the Peace Council, Minister of Finance and Economy Andrzej Domański told “Rzeczpospolita”. There are more important tasks to finance than participation in this council, he added.
In an interview published in Friday's edition of “Rz”, Minister Domański was asked about President Karol Nawrocki's invitation to the Peace Council created by Donald Trump and the $1 billion fee associated with permanent membership in this body.
“Let's start with the fact that any international agreement requires a resolution of the Council of Ministers, and there is certainly no such resolution today. Secondly, we are talking about very serious legal obligations that would have to be analyzed in detail. To answer directly: there is certainly no billion dollars in the budget for this. There are more important tasks to finance than participation in this council,” Domański said. (PAP)
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Poland did not sign Trump's document. Behind the scenes of President Nawrocki's decision
The opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Poland's joining the Peace Council of US President Donald Trump sent to the president's office was very short and enigmatically formulated, said Rafał Leśkiewicz, spokesman for President Karol Nawrocki. He added that the opinion “confirmed what the president knew from the beginning.”
President Nawrocki, together with several dozen other leaders of countries from around the world, received an invitation from President Trump at the beginning of the week to join the Peace Council he is establishing, which is responsible for, among other things, deal with the situation in the Gaza Strip. Nawrocki later assured that he was in contact with Prime Minister Donald Tusk regarding Poland's possible membership in this format. He added that the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this matter, previously submitted to the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, was “not entirely serious.”
In Thursday's entry on the X platform, Sikorski referred to the attitude of the President of the Republic of Poland. “It is a pity that Mr. President does not appreciate that the government allowed him – without any losses in PL-US relations – to avoid a mishap. Poland should play for one goal,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski on Thursday.
The president's spokesman was asked about the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday on Polsat News. – President Karol Nawrocki asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for an opinion. We received a short, three-point opinion from the ministry, he said. As he added, the head of the presidential Office of International Policy, Marcin Przydacz, “was not impressed by it, because it was a very enigmatically formulated opinion, contained in three short points, basically on one page.”
– It actually confirmed what is obvious and what Mr. President knew from the very beginning, that is, the actual state of affairs resulting from the provisions of the Polish constitution, Art. 89 of the Polish constitution, which states that every international agreement requires ratification – added Leśkiewicz, emphasizing that the president knows that the decision to join Poland to an international organization requires the consent of the Council of Ministers and the Parliament under the constitution.
On Thursday, President Nawrocki took part in the meeting organized by President Trump during the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the founding document of the Peace Council was signed, but he did not sign the document himself. He declared that he was in contact with Trump regarding the Council and emphasized that “it is a prestige that Poland is invited to bodies that are also supposed to resolve Middle East issues and the war between Israel and Palestine.”
The president said on Wednesday on Republika TV, after a conversation with Trump in Davos, that Poland's participation in the Peace Council is important and necessary.however, this type of international agreement must go through the entire constitutional procedure. He indicated that this was the topic of his conversation with the US president and was received with great understanding.
Poland's participation in the new international body is controversial, among others. due to the fact that the leaders of Russia and Belarus were also invited to participate. There are also doubts about the compliance of the new initiative with the UN system and the United Nations Charter. Ultimately, on Thursday, the founding document of the Council was signed by representatives of 30 countries, including no representatives of Russia or China. Most European Union countries – with the exception of Hungary and Bulgaria – and Great Britain did not decide to sign the document.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the council's initial focus would be on achieving lasting peace in the Gaza Strip. However, he assessed that the possibilities created by the new body are “infinite” and the Gaza Strip can be an example for solving other conflicts. (PAP)
The Peace Council started on Thursday
Trump inaugurated the Peace Council on Thursday during the 56th World Economic Forum in Davos. He explained that this is a body that is supposed to cooperate with the UN in resolving conflicts in the world. Speaking to the media, Trump said the UN has “great potential” and “working with the Peace Council will be a good thing for the UN.”
Nawrocki assured on Thursday that he was in contact with Prime Minister Donald Tusk regarding Poland's possible membership in the Peace Council. He added that the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this matter, previously submitted to the Chancellery of the President, was “not entirely serious.”
During the press conference, Nawrocki said that although he did not sign during the ceremony, he participated in it.
– It is (…) prestige that Poland is invited to bodies that are also supposed to resolve Middle East issues and the war between Israel and Palestine – said Nawrocki.
– However, due to constitutional and legislative issues, as well as a certain legal and political order in Poland, I did not sign it – he added.
Poland's accession to an international organization means the need to carry out the so-called major ratification by the president with the consent of Parliament expressed in the Act on International Agreements, also with an appropriate resolution of the Council of Ministers.
In addition to Trump, the founding document of the Peace Council was signed by, among others, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Argentine President Javier Milei, as well as representatives of Bahrain, Morocco, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Mongolia. Russia and China were not among the founding members.
From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)
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