President Nicusor Dan announced on Sunday that he will participate next week in the first meeting of the Peace Council in Washington, thus accepting the invitation extended by U.S. President Donald Trump.

'Romania will have observer status and I will reaffirm our staunch support for international peace efforts, as well as our openness to participate in the Gaza Strip reconstruction process. The decision to attend these discussions is based on the desire to support the diplomatic process established by the resolution adopted in November by the UN Security Council, at the initiative of the United States of America. Romania has consistently supported the need to identify a solution that can bring an end to the conflict and has provided assistance to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, particularly through emergency medical evacuation operations,' President Nicusor Dan wrote in a Facebook message on Sunday.

On February 12, the head of the state said that Romania was holding talks with the American side regarding its participation in the February 19 Peace Council.

'We are still in talks with the American side and the subject is the status of a country that, at this moment, like Romania, can only participate as an observer. In other words, what will the format of the discussions be, and what role will the observers have in this meeting? Depending on the American side's response, we will decide whether to attend or not,' the president explained before joining the informal meeting of the European Council at Alden-Biesen Castle in Belgium.

At that time, Nicusor Dan also mentioned that Romania was consulting with other European states on the matter and estimated that a decision would be made this week.

'Everything is still evolving, because the American side is also reconsidering things based on the responses they have received. So we will probably make a decision this week,' he said.

Asked whether Romania might ultimately decide not to join the Council, given that observer countries will play a rather secondary role, Dan stressed that participation remains important due to Romania's traditional ties with both Israel and the Arab states.

'It depends, because, as you know, the situation in Gaza is important for Europe. Romania traditionally has relations with Israel and with the Arab countries in the region. So it is important for us to be there, but it depends on the conditions,' he explained.

On February 8, the president announced that he had received the invitation to attend the first meeting of the Peace Council. 'As I have said before, Romania welcomes the efforts of the U.S. Administration to promote peace,' Nicusor Dan wrote at the time in a Facebook post.

According to him, after receiving the invitation, Romania began discussions with the United States to clarify the compatibility of the Council's Charter with Romania's existing international commitments. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Livia Popescu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)