The Vatican will not participate in the so-called Peace Council for the Gaza Strip, promoted by United States President Donald Trump, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, confirmed this Tuesday. At the end of a meeting at the Italian Embassy at the Holy See, Parolin was questioned by the press about participating in the initiative and explained that the Vatican is refusing the invitation due to its “particular nature, which is clearly not the same as that of other States”.
On January 21, the Vatican had confirmed that Pope Leo XIV had received the invitation from the American government and that the proposal was being evaluated at that time. “We know that Italy will participate as an observer”, stated Parolin, who highlighted that there are “points that leave us somewhat perplexed” and “critical points that need to be clarified”. The cardinal said that, although “the important thing is that we are trying to give an answer”, for the Holy See there are “issues that need to be resolved”.
Mexico will only participate as an observer, says president
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced this Tuesday that the country will send its ambassador to the United Nations as an observer of the Peace Council, justifying the refusal to participate in the entity due to the need to include all parties in the peace processes in the Middle East. “In this case, when it comes specifically to peace in the Middle East, to Palestine, since we recognize Palestine as a State, the participation of both States, Israel and Palestine, is important. And that is not how the meeting is structured,” he emphasized.
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“We were invited to participate as observers, and if we were not going to participate, we should participate as observers. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and I decided that our ambassador to the United Nations would act as an observer”, declared the Mexican president during a press conference. Mexico has historically maintained a foreign policy based on principles such as the peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for international law, which guided its position on the conflict in the Middle East and its recognition of the State of Palestine. In recent years, the country has supported multilateral initiatives with the aim of promoting negotiations between the parties.
Council has representatives from at least 35 countries
The Peace Council, created by Trump to resolve global conflicts, seeks to oversee the implementation of the president’s 20-point plan, with the stated goal of ending the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. The group will hold its first meeting on Thursday in Washington, with the participation of at least 35 heads of state and government, including those from Israel and Egypt. The largest number of countries are from the Middle East and West Asia region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. In second place on the list are the countries of Central Asia and Southeast Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam. From Latin America, Argentina, El Salvador and Paraguay also joined the list.
Five European countries are on the council: Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary and Kosovo. Countries such as France, Spain and Sweden declined the invitation, and Italy will participate as an observer. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani defended his country’s presence on Tuesday and stated that there are no viable alternatives to the US proposal and that an absence would be “politically incomprehensible”, although he did not specify who would lead the Italian delegation at Thursday’s meeting.
