The President of the United States, Donald Trump, launched on Thursday, January 22, in Davos, a new diplomatic format – “The Peace Council” – initially designed to support the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but which the White House leader sees with a broader role in managing international conflicts. Trump stated that the structure will operate “in conjunction with the United Nations Organization”, notes Reuters.
“Once this council is fully formed, we can practically do whatever we want. And we will do this together with the UN,” Trump said, stating that the international organization has “a huge potential, insufficiently exploited”.
Donald Trump, who will chair the Council, invited dozens of world leaders to join the initiative, stating that it should address global challenges beyond the fragile armistice in Gaza. According to Reuters, countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Indonesia have accepted the invitation, while the major Western powers have adopted a more reserved position.
So far, no other permanent member of the UN Security Council has officially committed to participate. France announced that it will not join the initiative, the United Kingdom declared that “it does not join for the moment”, and China has not expressed its position.
Russia has conveyed that it is analyzing the proposal, after Trump stated that Moscow would join. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would be willing to contribute one billion dollars from frozen American assets, “to support the Palestinian people”.
Trump specified that the permanent members of the Council would each contribute financially with one billion dollars. At the launch ceremony, no official delegations of the main global powers were observed, nor representatives of Israel or the Palestinian Authority.
Among the members of the Council are, among others, the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, American negotiators for Gaza Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, as well as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Marco Rubio stated that the main objective of the Council remains the implementation of the peace plan for Gaza, but that the structure could become “an example for what is possible in other regions of the world”.
Jared Kushner specified that the next stage of the plan aims at the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the disarmament of the Hamas group, one of the most sensitive topics of the negotiations. “If Hamas does not demilitarize, this plan cannot advance”, Kushner said.
UN position and critical reactions
The creation of the Peace Council was mentioned in a resolution of the UN Security Council related to the American plan for Gaza. A UN spokesperson clarified that the organization’s involvement will take place strictly in this framework.
France justified its refusal to participate by the fact that the status of the Council is not aligned with the UN Charter and neither with the strict mandate regarding Gaza. “There are elements that contravene the United Nations Charter”, declared the spokesperson of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The Peace Council” is an international diplomatic initiative launched by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, within the World Economic Forum in Davos and is part of his broader plan for peace.