Germany, Italy say cannot join Board of Peace in current form

“Italy's position is as follows. We are available. We are interested in this initiative. I also think Germany can play an important role here, because it concerns the stabilization of the Middle East,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told a press briefing with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Rome.

“The work that can lead to a consolidation of this ceasefire and towards the proposal of a two-state solution - I think all of that requires our involvement. So we are ready, but of course there are objective problems. As the initiative is currently structured, there are problems with our Constitution. It would be unconstitutional for us to get involved,” she added.

Meloni’s statements on the issue were also echoed by the German chancellor.

“A few weeks ago, I told President Trump that I would personally be willing to join a peace board if it were a body that, as originally planned, would accompany the peace process in Gaza which unfortunately has still not begun,” Merz said.

“As the peace board is currently structured, we cannot accept the governance structures alone for constitutional reasons in Germany, but we are of course willing to try other forms, new forms of cooperation with the United States of America, when it comes to finding new formats that bring us closer to peace in different regions of the world,” he added.

As it was reported, 19 countries, including the U.S., signed the Charter of the Board of Peace. The signing took place during Trump’s visit to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. The Board of Peace was announced last year as part of a US-backed Israel-Hamas ceasefire framework and has been described by Washington as a mechanism to support post-conflict governance and reconstruction in Gaza.