What is President Trump’s “Peace Commission”?
Members of President Trump’s Peace Commission include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye, and Belarus.
- President Trump established a “peace commission” in response to the Gaza conflict.
- The Vatican declined the invitation to participate, saying such international crises should be managed by the United Nations.
- The board’s founding members include many countries, but very few are Democratic.
President Donald Trump’s peace committee met for the first time in Washington, D.C., on February 19 to discuss Gaza reconstruction.
President Trump established a peace commission to cement a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel into lasting peace after two years of devastating war. However, the Council is likely to be involved in other foreign affairs matters as well.
Invitations were sent to around 50 countries, including democratically elected government officials and controversial figures such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. It is unclear how many people have pledged to join or paid $1 billion to become permanent members. However, one of the invitees, the Vatican, announced on February 17 that it was declining the invitation.
“One of the things we have been insisting is that above all, the United Nations should manage these crisis situations at the international level,” Vatican diplomatic official Cardinal Pietro Parolin said, according to Reuters. New Pope Leo has also criticized some of President Trump’s policies.
“I think it’s very unfortunate,” Caroline Leavitt said at a February 18 press conference. “I don’t think peace should be partisan, political, or controversial. And of course, the administration wants everyone invited to join the Peace Commission…This is a legitimate organization with membership from dozens of countries from around the world.”
So who’s in on it? Here’s what you need to know:
Which countries are participating in the Peace Commission?
The Peace Committee’s X account lists the following countries as founding members:
- Albania
- Argentina
- armenia
- Azerbaijan
- belarus
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- el salvador
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Kazakhstan
- kosovo
- mongolia
- Pakistan
- paraguay
- uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Israel
- Saudi Arabia
- egypt
- qatar
- bahrain
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Morocco
- turkey
- united arab emirates
A list provided by the State Department shows additional representatives attended the board meeting as observers. They come from the European Union, India, Italy, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and more.
(This article was updated after publication with information about board attendees provided by the State Department.)
Contributors: Josh Meyer, Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is a Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Please contact KCrowley@usatodayco.com. follow her X (Twitter), blue sky and TikTok.
