Spain refuses Trump’s invitation to join the Peace Council

Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, speaks during a press conference after participating in a special summit of European Union leaders REUTERS/Yves Herman Spain refused the invitation of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to be part of the Peace Council. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp SANDRA COHEN: Peace Council is born emptied and in the image of Trump The announcement was made by Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, on Thursday night (22), following a European Union summit in Brussels. “We appreciate the invitation, but we declined,” he said. Sánchez cited coherence with Madrid’s commitment to international law, the UN and multilateralism as the main reasons for refusing to participate. He also criticized the fact that the council, which was initially created to oversee the work of the transitional government that has just taken charge of the Gaza Strip, does not include the Palestinian Authority. Official launch of the Peace Council took place in Davos Trump launches ‘Peace Council’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos With criticism of the United Nations (UN) and a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip with a row of skyscrapers, Trump officially launched this Thursday (22) his “Peace Council”. ➡️ Created by his government to oversee peace in the Gaza Strip and rebuild Palestinian territory, the structure is seen by part of the international community as an attempt to empty the UN. In a ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said that his council will have the approval “to do whatever we want” not only in Gaza, and his government also presented a reconstruction plan that he called “New Gaza” (read more below). “When this council is fully formed, we will be able to do practically anything we want. And we will do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” said Trump, who will be the body’s president for life and the only one with veto power. Around 30 of the 60 world leaders who agreed to participate in the council participated in the ceremony, such as Argentine president, Javier Milei — President Lula was invited to join the Peace Council, but has not yet responded to the invitation. No major Western allies were at the launch. Speaking at the ceremony, Trump said it was a “very exciting day” and again criticized the UN – which critics say Trump wants to replace with the creation of his “Peace Council”. “I never even spoke to the UN. They had tremendous potential,” Trump said. However, he said his council will engage “with many others, including the UN.” He further said the council would not focus solely on Gaza, but would start with the Palestinian territory, which he said would be “demilitarized and beautifully rebuilt.” US President Donald Trump speaks during the launch of his “Peace Council”, on January 22, 2026. Denis Balibouse/ Reuters The creation of the council was foreseen in the second phase of the peace agreement brokered by the US and signed by Israel and the terrorist group Hamas, in October last year. The peace plan, released by the White House at the end of September, has 20 points and envisages the Gaza Strip as a zone free of armed groups and under the command of a transitional government, formed by a technocratic and apolitical Palestinian committee, which will be supervised by the council. The entity “will help support effective governance and the delivery of high-level services that promote peace, stability and prosperity for the people of Gaza”, announced the White House. Donald Trump will be the inaugural president. With broad powers, he will have the final say in voting, can choose the countries he wants to invite and can also revoke the participation of anyone who displeases him. According to the council’s draft statute, anyone who wants to be part of the group will serve three-year terms, but a billion-dollar fee guarantees fixed tenure. “Each Member State will serve a term of maximum three years from the date of entry into force of this Charter, renewable by the President. This three-year term will not apply to Member States that contribute more than US$1 billion in cash to the Peace Council in the first year”, says the document. On Wednesday (21), the White House stated that 25 countries have already accepted the invitation to join the Peace Council. Among them are: Israel Argentina Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Bahrain Jordan Qatar Egypt Turkey Hungary Morocco Pakistan Indonesia Kosovo Uzbekistan Kazakhstan Paraguay Vietnam Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus So far, only Norway, Sweden and Italy have spoken out refusing the invitation. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she needed more time to analyze the proposal before committing to membership. This Thursday (22), Trump sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, informing him of the withdrawal of an invitation to join the council. The decision came after an exchange of barbs between Mark Carney and Trump at the World Economic Forum. Other countries said they were still evaluating what they would do. Some of them are: Brazil Russia China France United Kingdom Germany Japan Ukraine Vatican

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