MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. The Vatican's refusal to join the Board of Peace organized by US President Donald Trump, coupled with its appeal to the authority of the UN, could have been a deliberate "jab" at the US president, who presents himself as the leading peacemaker of our time, political scientist and religious scholar Alexander Stenko stressed to TASS on Thursday.

Earlier, Vatican State Secretary Cardinal Pietro Parolin announced that the Holy See would not participate in the work of the Board of Peace "due to its specific nature, which differs significantly from that of other states."

"In this context, it is striking that the statement by Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin regarding the Board of Peace is quite harsh, deliberately precise, and laconic. By categorically emphasizing the UN's leading role in resolving international crisis situations, including in the Gaza Strip, Parolin clearly sought to challenge in the public sphere the image of the primary peacemaker of our time, which is so dear to Trump and which he vigorously promotes. We cannot rule out that the aim was to use the statement to 'take a dig' at the personal ambitions of the US head of state," he said.

The religious scholar noted that this decision by the Holy See "was not surprising" given the accumulating contradictions between the US administration and the Vatican on ideological and political matters. "Hints that the Roman Curia would take such a decision were conveyed several days earlier by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa," Stenko added.