On Thursday, Moscow questioned how the Peace Council initiated by US President Donald Trump would function alongside the UN and its Security Council, which includes both Russia and the US. It was reported by the Reuters agency, writes TASR.
- Russia has questioned the functioning of Trump’s Peace Council alongside the UN.
- The Peace Council was founded by Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
- The council’s charter does not limit its activities to the Gaza Strip.
- The US is the only permanent member of the UN Security Council that is on the Peace Council.
- Trump will have veto power and can lead the council even after the presidency.
The head of the White House established the Peace Council on January 22 at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Although it was originally supposed to oversee the post-war reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, its charter does not limit the organization’s activities to the Palestinian territory, according to available information. Trump says that the Peace Council could fulfill some functions of the UN in the future.
The United States is the only one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council that is also a member of the Peace Council. The remaining four – Britain, China, France, and Russia – did not join Trump’s initiative.
Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kirill Logvinov, pointed out that the Peace Council was initially proposed as a body that would supervise the administration of the Gaza Strip within the framework of Trump’s peace plan, supported by a resolution of the UN Security Council.
“The Charter of the Peace Council defines it as a new international structure to replace ‘mechanisms that have too often proved ineffective’,” said a Russian diplomat for the TASS agency, noting that the charter does not mention the Gaza Strip even once.
“Obviously, this approach raises questions about how the Peace Council will coexist with the United Nations and its Security Council, which is the only universally recognized body for maintaining international peace and security,” Logvinov noted that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has not yet been invited to the meetings of the new council.
Trump will have the right to veto his council’s decisions and also be able to fire members. He can remain its boss even after leaving the presidential office. Countries that want to remain members of the council permanently, instead of a two-year term, must pay a billion dollars.
The Charter of the Peace Council states that it will perform “peace-building functions in accordance with international law”. According to the UN, the main responsibility of the UN Security Council established after World War II is to maintain international peace and security.
