The founding charter of the "Board of Peace" set up by Donald Trump was signed on Thursday in Davos, Switzerland, on the second day of the World Economic Forum. One of the signatories was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whom the US president introduced as a “tough guy.”
Orbán himself documented the ceremony in a Facebook post, where he also gave his reason for joining the Board of Peace:
“War threatens everything we have built over the past decade and a half. War brings inflation, sanctions, high energy prices, and the decline of national economies.Hungary, however, does not want to go backwards, but wants to move forward. It is for this reason that we support and reinforce through our participation all international initiatives that prevent and restrain wars and guarantee the security and peace of nations and families.”
22 countries have agreed to participate in the Board of Peace to date, with Hungary and Bulgaria being the only European Union member states that have accepted Trump's invitation to join. Several EU countries have refused to participate on account of the dispute over Greenland generated by Trump, while the United Kingdom has announced that it is "not ready" to join given the participation of Belarus.
In his introductory speech at the signing ceremony, the US president, using his customary superlatives, called the "Board of Peace "one of the most important bodies the world has ever seen" (although almost nothing is known yet about how it is going to operate). Trump said that the Board of Peace would work with the UN to “end conflicts around the world.”
According to its founding charter, "The Board of Peace is an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict." Its establishment is justified by the "need for a more flexible and effective international peacekeeping body" to replace institutions that have failed to bring about peace.
For more quick, accurate and impartial news from and about Hungary, subscribe to the Telex English newsletter!