The Vatican will not be a member of the Peace Council initiative being established by United States President Donald Trump, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the territory's top diplomatic official, said.
Parolin made this statement yesterday and added that resolving crisis situations in the world, which the Peace Committee plans to do, should be led by the United Nations (UN), Reuters reports.
The Holy See "will not participate in the Peace Committee due to its particular nature, which is clearly not characteristic of other states," Parolin said.
He added that one of the concerns is that "at the international level, the UN should primarily manage these crisis situations," and that the Vatican is insisting on this.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, received an invitation to join the board in January.
The committee, as Trump stated, should oversee the interim administration of the Gaza Strip, following the ceasefire reached with Israel in October last year, which ended the war.
Trump then said that the board, with him as chairman, would be expanded to deal with other global conflicts.
He will hold his first meeting in Washington tomorrow, which is expected to discuss the reconstruction of Gaza.
Italy and the European Union (EU) have announced that their representatives plan to attend the negotiations as observers.
Many human rights experts argue that Trump's oversight of the Foreign Affairs Oversight Board would resemble a colonial structure, and the board has already been criticized for not having a single Palestinian member.
Countries around the world have reacted cautiously to Trump's call, and experts are concerned that the committee could undermine the UN.
Some of Washington's Middle Eastern allies have joined in, while Western allies have stayed away for now.
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