site.btaUPDATED Bulgaria Joins President Trump's Board of Peace

Bulgaria joined President Trump's Gaza Board of Peace, according to a press release by the outgoing government Thursday. "Today, Bulgaria joined the Board of Peace under the patronage of the United States and President Trump personally. It is a great honor and source of pride for us that the high representative for Gaza is Nickolay Mladenov,” outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said after the official ceremony held in Davos, quoted by the government press office.

It also transpired in the press release that the government mandated the Prime Minister on Wednesday to sign the document for joining the initiative on behalf of Bulgaria.

On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry said that Rosen Zhelyazkov was leading a Bulgarian delegation to Davos. There was no mention of the mandate to sign up for the Gaza Board of Peace.  

The act of joining is yet to be ratified by the Bulgarian Parliament, said the government press office Thursday. 

Zhelyazkov is quoted as saying that it will be submitted to Parliament for ratification next week.

He underscored that Bulgaria has not made any financial commitments. "Ours is a fully voluntary participation and is duly appreciated by the US and the international community," he said.

“Peace and security in the Middle East have always been of strategic importance to Bulgaria,” Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said. He is part of the delegation led by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov attending the World Economic Forum in Davos. Georgiev explained that achieving peace is a prerequisite for preventing migration crises similar to those seen in the recent past.

The government press office also quoted the Foreign Minister as saying that “peace in the Middle East is a prerequisite for security and safety in our region, as well as across Europe.” He stressed that Bulgaria is an external border of the Schengen area and that the proximity of the Middle East to Bulgaria largely shapes security processes and architecture, including in the Balkans. “From this perspective, achieving peace in Gaza is a vital objective for Bulgaria,” Georgiev added.

The Foreign Minister underlined that Bulgaria supports President Trump’s 20-point plan for achieving peace in Gaza, as well as the Gaza Plan approved by a UN Security Council resolution. “The two are inextricably linked, and not least the fact that a Bulgarian national is the special representative for Gaza and will serve on the Board’s Executive Committee is, in my view, recognition both of the exceptional work Mr. Mladenov will carry out and of the capacity being invested in support of peace in the Middle East,” Georgiev said.

Georgiev also reiterated that Bulgaria’s participation in the Board of Peace does not entail any financial commitment for the country. “Financial contributions are voluntary. No country is obliged to make such contributions,” he said, adding also that decisions taken by the Board do not have automatic application within the territory of any member state.