Some of America’s oldest allies collectively scorned the signing ceremony of Donald Trump’s new “peace commission” initiative.
No representatives from Western European countries attended Thursday morning’s World Economic Forum conference in Davos.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milley (left) sign the founding charter at a meeting
(Benedict von Lebel)
Fewer than 20 countries attended, including Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Argentina and Paraguay. The number was far lower than the 35 expected by senior White House officials.
Leaders who did show up included Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev and far-right Hungarian leader Viktor Orban. /Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“Every one of them is a friend of mine,” Trump said on stage. “I like everyone in this group, can you believe it? Usually I have two or three that I can’t stand.”
“They’re great people,” he added. “They are great leaders.”
As about a dozen world leaders sat impassively on stage, Trump continued to boast that his new team would bring “a glorious peace” to the Middle East.
“For the region and for the entire region of the world, because I call the world a region,” he said. “The world is a region.”
“Everyone in this room is a star. You are all stars,” he said.
Levitt seemed to have the only moment of applause for Trump during the signing ceremony. / Fabrice Coferini/AFP/Getty Images
At several moments throughout the signing ceremony, White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt appeared to be the only person in the room clapping loudly, before others slowly joined in.
Trump’s “Peace Commission” offers permanent membership at a cost of $1 billion, with the stated goal of “promoting stability” and restoring “legitimate governance” in conflict areas, with an initial focus on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. But critics blasted the move as an inevitable consequence of Trump’s attempt to create a “Make America Great Again” for the United Nations.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is currently attending the Davos summit but did not send a representative to Wednesday’s ceremony.
Other invitees to the meeting – among them French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney – also did not show up.
European partners have expressed doubts about the Peace Council in light of the US president’s decision to invite Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to participate. Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin is engaged in a bloody war with Western ally Ukraine, and the president of Belarus is a close ally of Putin and a key driver of the conflict.
Macron had harsh words for the United States at the Davos summit but was already on his way to France by the time Trump presented the award. / Fabrice Coferini/AFP/Getty Images
The announcement of the initiative also comes amid growing threats from Trump himself to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory from NATO ally Denmark, which he blames for his rejection of the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
“Considering your country’s decision not to award me the Nobel Peace Prize for preventing eight wars, I no longer feel obligated to think purely about peace,” the Make Great Again leader wrote in a letter to Norway’s prime minister earlier this week.
The Norwegian government has no relationship with the Nobel Committee, a non-state body that independently decides who will receive the various prestigious prizes.
On Wednesday, Trump said progress had been made on a deal to advance U.S. interests in Greenland while avoiding a military confrontation with other NATO members and a brewing trade war with Europe that his threats triggered.
