Russian president Vladimir Putin has received an invitation to join the Gaza “Peace Council” being set up by US President Donald Trump, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday, January 19.
“At the moment, we are reviewing all the details of this proposal and hope to establish contacts with the American side to clarify all nuances,” Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency.
On January 18, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Prime Minister Viktor Orban received an invitation from the US president to join the new international body.
“He is flattered by this invitation and will, of course, take part in the Council’s work,” Szijjarto said.
A day later, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev “gratefully” accepted a similar invitation from Trump.
Tokayev aims to contribute to a lasting Middle East peace, strengthen inter-state trust and global stability, his spokesperson Ruslan Zheldibay said.
Bloomberg reported that the US president also invited several other world leaders to join the executive council of the “Peace Council,” including Argentina’s President Javier Milei and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.
On January 16, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Berlin is ready to take part in the “Peace Council.”
“We expect concrete discussions on this topic soon and perhaps an invitation will follow,” the top diplomat said after meeting his Austrian counterpart, Beate Meinl-Reisinger.
“I think the ‘Peace Council’ will be an important institution,” Wadephul emphasized on January 16. He added that Gaza’s future can only be successful if Hamas - designated a terrorist organization by the EU and US - plays no role.
The Telegraph previously reported that the “Peace Council” will likely include representatives from the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.
News of the “Peace Council” came shortly after the announcement of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic administration tasked with handling day-to-day governance in Gaza.
On January 14, US President Trump’s special envoy Witkoff announced the start of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. The phase includes, among other steps, the disarmament of Hamas and the deployment of International Stabilization Forces (ISF) in Gaza to support the Palestinian police.
According to a White House press release, Major General Jasper Jeffers, former commander of US Central Command special operations forces (CENTCOM), was named ISF commander.
In December, Hamas said it would be ready to lay down its arms under certain conditions, including a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. “The presence of our weapons is explained by occupation and aggression. If the occupation ends, these weapons will be placed under the control of the state,” Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said.
Hamas - designated a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States - launched an October 7, 2023 assault on Israel that escalated the Middle East conflict. Militants fired rockets, crossed into Israeli territory and carried out the deadliest mass killing of civilians in modern Israeli history, killing about 1,200 people. They also took around 250 hostages to Gaza. Some hostages were later exchanged or freed; some were killed.
Israel responded by declaring war on Hamas. More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 169,000 wounded during the ground operation and airstrikes in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The methodology behind those figures is unclear, including how many Islamist fighters are among the dead and whether deaths from natural causes among hospitalized Palestinians are included.
