On Monday, it emerged that Norway and Russia are among a growing list of countries that have received invitations. The Times of Israel also confirmed that the invitation to the peace council has been extended to Israel.
The arrangement raises questions, however. Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that Russia is now trying to "clarify" with Washington, D.C. what is involved.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told the newspaper VG that he received the invitation last Friday, but that he too is wondering about the framework.
"The invitation is to sit there to achieve world peace," he explains.
"I would have expected it to be more specifically focused on Gaza. It doesn't seem to be."
One billion dollars
Thus, he has no clear answer to VG's question about how he should react.
The AFP news agency has obtained a draft of the council's charter from the White House. It states that the group will work for "stable peace" throughout the world. But it is on Trump's terms. For example, the U.S. president is asking for a fee of one billion dollars per person from anyone who intends to have a permanent seat on the council.
The so-called peace council was originally part of phase two of the ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas after the Gaza war.
Milei and Carney
Israel was critical over the weekend of the U.S. inviting Turkey and Qatar, among others, to participate. But on Monday it emerged that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also been invited. This raises questions, since he is one of the parties to the Gaza war that the council was originally supposed to handle.
Even the information that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited is highly controversial, in light of Russia's ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine.
Among the members mentioned first are U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, U.S. special envoy to the region Steve Witkoff, and World Bank President Ajay Banga. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has also agreed to join the council.
On Saturday, Argentine President Javier Milei claimed he had been asked to sit on the council. Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney are also said to have been asked, according to media reports.
