Norway’s government announced on Wednesday that it would not be joining the “Board of Peace” established by US President Donald Trump, who has expressed his annoyance at the Nordic nation following its rejection for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“The American proposal raises a number of questions” requiring “further dialogue with the United States”, State Secretary Kristoffer Thoner said in a statement.
“Norway will therefore not join the proposed arrangements for the Board of Peace, and will therefore not attend a signing ceremony in Davos,” Thoner said. Norway would continue its close cooperation with the United States, he added.
Although the intended purpose of Trump’s Board of Peace was to supervise the reconstruction of Gaza, its charter does not seem to restrict its authority to Palestinian territory.
Trump will be the chairman of the board, and the US administration has requested nations to pay up to $1 billion for a permanent seat.
“For Norway, it is important how this proposal is linked to established structures as the UN, and to our international commitments,” Thoner added.
The government representative added that Norway shared Trump’s “goal of lasting peace in Ukraine, Gaza and in other situations”.
Trump has stated time and time again that he thinks he should have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Maria Corina Machado, a leader of the Venezuelan opposition, won the medal last year.
Trump stated he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace” after being rejected for the prize in a letter to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store that was released on Monday.
“I have clearly explained, including to President Trump, what is well known—the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee,” Store said in a statement.
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