American President Donald Trump walked onto the stage in Davos with a black leather folder under his arms and led by a standing ovation. “This is an exciting day,” he declared to the crowd.
“This council has the opportunity to be one of the most influential bodies ever,” Trump said. The American president himself chairs the council. Countries that contribute $1 billion can obtain permanent membership, while others have a limited term. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to use frozen assets in the US as registration fees.
Trump’s plans for a peace council in Gaza are taking shape and they seem familiar to the UN
The signatories include Argentine President Javier Milei and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He is one of the few European leaders who have accepted the invitation. This also includes Albania, Belarus, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
The council, which was originally created to promote the peace plan in Gaza, appears in recent days to increasingly become a private competitor to the UN, in which Trump wants to resolve various conflicts around the world.
Criticism
During the ceremony in Davos, the president emphasized that the council will do everything “to create peace in the world”, and that “in cooperation with the United Nations”. He seemed to want to reassure European leaders, although criticism of the UN immediately followed. For example, Trump said that the UN “has a lot of potential” but actually achieves little. “They’re not trying hard enough,” Trump said.
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On the conflict in Gaza, Trump said the Palestinian extremist group Hamas must lay down its arms or “it will be the end of them.” Trump added that the Islamist group “was created with a gun in hand.”
“Bigger and better than ever”
Jared Kushner appeared on stage to explain how the ‘Peace Council’ wants to handle things. “We are going to copy what works in other countries,” his statement read. The intention is that they, together with the other participating states, find out which countries excel in certain areas, and bundle those “practices” in the functioning of the ‘Peace Council’ in order to “implement peace”.
In this way, the council will be “bigger and better than ever,” Trump concluded at the end of the ceremony. “It’s a big project, but it’s doable.”
Members of the ‘Peace Council’
An overview of the members of Trump’s ‘Peace Council’:
Argentina
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Belarus
Bulgaria
Indonesia
Jordan
Qatar
Kosovo
Morocco
Mongolia
Pakistan
Paraguay
Poland
Saudi Arabia
Turkey
Hungary
Uzbekistan
United Arab Emirates