DAVOS, SWITZERLAND – JANUARY 21: US President Donald Trump speaks on stage with World Economic Forum President and CEO Borge Brende at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 21, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. The annual meeting of political and business leaders comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Europe over a number of issues, including Trump’s pledge to annex Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory of Greenland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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US President Donald Trump was surrounded by world leaders as he announced that the war in Gaza would “truly end” at the signing ceremony of the “Peace Council” for the territory.
But many countries are not represented, and Trump singled out Spain from the podium for criticizing defense spending, saying, “They want a free ride.”
The ceremony at the World Economic Forum was attended by representatives of the United Arab Emirates, Hungary and Pakistan. DavosSwitzerland, on Thursday. The board is dedicated to overseeing the reconstruction of Gaza.
This is who sat on the board and attended the signing ceremony.
- Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Court, Bahrain
- Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Morocco
- Javier Maile, President of Argentina
- Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia
- Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
- Rosen Zhelyazkov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria
- Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary
- Prabowo Subianto, President of Indonesia
- Ayman Al Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan
- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan
- Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, President of Kosovo
- Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan
- Santiago Peña, President of Paraguay
- Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, President of Qatar
- Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia
- Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey
- Khaldun Khalifa Al-Mubarak, US Special Envoy to the UAE
- Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan
- Gombojavin Zandanshatar, Prime Minister of Mongolia
A long list of countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and other European countries, did not participate in the signing, and some declined the invitation.
British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper told the BBC about it on Thursday.will not be one of the signatories today“, he expressed concern about the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to join.
Spain did not send a representative to sign the invitation to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to join the “review”. Spanish media reports.
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND – JANUARY 22: US President Donald Trump signs the founding charter of the Peace Council at the World Economic Forum (WEF) signing ceremony on January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland.
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Putin has received an invitation to join Trump’s peace team Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that “all the details of this proposal are being studied,” but no representatives attended Thursday’s signing event.
This was announced by US special representative Steve Witkoff in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday The US administration is meeting with Putin about joining the Peace Council. “We should go to a meeting with him on Thursday. But this meeting is requested by the Russians,” Witkoff said.
France Citing a Foreign Ministry document, the Spiegel report declined to invite Germany to join the board, as did Germany. “We need more time,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told state broadcaster RAI on Wednesday. “There is work to be done. However, my position remains open,” he said. Reuters reports.
Belgium has not signed either, its foreign minister, Maxime Prevot X, said in a statement released Thursday. “We want a common and coordinated European response. “Like many European countries, we have reservations about this proposal,” he said.
According to local media, Sweden, Slovenia and Norway also declined the invitation.
The peace council, approved by the United Nations Security Council in November last year, was created to oversee a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
His, not Israel’s, at the signing event Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will joinaccording to reports.
“We want to work with the Peace Council, the executive council and the committee and make sure they do their job,” Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa said Wednesday when asked about the peace council.
“But we also want to see our public institutions continue to prepare for the rebuilding effort,” he said during a WEF event in Davos.
Last week The White House confirmed the establishment of the “Executive Council”.,” “Activating the Peace Council Vision.”
These are the members of the executive board.
- Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State
- Steve Witkoff, US Special Representative for the Middle East
- Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law
- Sir Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of Great Britain
- Mark Rowan, CEO of Apollo
- Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank
- Robert Gabriel, Security Consultant
— CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt and Sam Meredith contributed to this report.