Filenews 22 January 2026
Donald Trump presented the newly formed Peace Council in Davos, with 19 countries signing their accession to the new scheme.
The ceremony was accompanied by limited clarifications on the mandate, structure and function of the instrument. From the European Union, only Hungary and Bulgaria participated in the event, while the traditional Western European allies of the United States were absent from the scene.
The US president called the Council "something truly unique to the world" and, speaking at the signing ceremony of the founding charter, said he could work with the United Nations to resolve wars, not only in the Middle East — where the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza was, as he said, the starting point of the idea. However, it did not provide specific details on how such cooperation with the UN could be organised or implemented.
The lack of a clear description of the mandate and procedures of the new body has caused reservations in several countries, many of which are considered close allies of the United States. According to what was conveyed, concerns have been expressed that Trump may seek the new Council to replace or compete with the UN, which is leading some governments to either refuse to participate or take a wait-and-see attitude.
After his statements, Donald Trump sat down at the table and was one of the first to sign the founding charter of the Peace Council. Representatives from Bahrain and Morocco were the first to follow, followed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt who presented the other members who came to add their signatures.
The ceremony took place with a significantly smaller turnout than the roughly 35 countries that, according to a government official's announcement earlier in the week, were expected to take part. The composition of the participants showed a geographical slope towards the Middle East, South America and Central Asia, while representatives and leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina and Paraguay, among others, were on stage. Trump publicly thanked them, calling them "for the most part very popular leaders, in some cases not so much."
The Peace Council was signed, according to what was announced, representatives from Bahrain and Morocco, the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria and the Prime Minister of Hungary. The President of Indonesia, the Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan, the President of Kosovo, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Prime Minister of Qatar, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey are also participating. The president of Uzbekistan and the prime minister of Mongolia also participate in the group.
In his speech, Donald Trump also referred to Venezuela, talking about US action and describing the US military as "by far the strongest army in the world", after the operation that, he said, led to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro. "Earlier this month, thanks to the unparalleled skill, power and power of the U.S. military — we have by far the strongest military in the world — we captured the illegitimate dictator Nicolas Maduro and liberated the Venezuelan people," he said. He added that the United States has "excellent relations with Venezuela's new leaders" and that "these relations are good."
He then stated that "we are opening the country to our big oil companies and this is going very well. We have already pumped 50 million barrels of oil and a large part of that will go back to Venezuela." As he said, Venezuela "will have more revenue with us in a short period of time than it has in years", while adding: "The oil companies want to enter, they want to enter immediately. We are already there and inspecting the facilities."
The US president also referred to drug trafficking, claiming that US strikes against alleged smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and surrounding waters have reduced illegal sea shipments to the US by 98,1%, a percentage that, as he said, was increased by about one percentage point compared to the data he had received the previous day. At the same time, he reiterated his commitment to move operations against Latin American cartels from sea to land, without naming countries to which he intends to order strikes, noting that land operations will be easier compared to attacks on vessels at sea.
Trump appeared last on the stage, preceded by the members of the "Board of Peace", and began his statement by saying that it was "a very exciting day, which has been prepared for a long time", while his voice sounded hoarse, after yesterday's long speech in Davos lasting more than 70 minutes. He argued that "everyone wants to be a part" of the new scheme, pointing out that most European countries, including the United Kingdom, have not yet signed. He added that they would work "with many others, including the United Nations."
Referring to the international agenda, he reiterated his rhetoric about ending wars, saying that "we have peace in the Middle East" and that "we have settled eight wars", estimating that "another one is coming soon", referring to the war in Ukraine. As he said, it was the conflict that "I thought would be easy", but "it turned out to be probably the most difficult". At the same time, he said that "today, the world is richer, safer and much more peaceful than it was a year ago" and added: "We put out all these fires that many people did not know, including me."
Finally, Donald Trump referred to Tony Blair, noting that he will not be a member of the Council, but will participate in the Executive Council of the Peace Council, which, as he said, will implement the vision of the body in Gaza. "Thank you, Tony, for being here. We appreciate it," the US president said.
protothema.gr
