A billion dollars for a permanent seat at the table. Trump is building a rival to the UN

The administration of US President Donald Trump wants countries to pay at least USD 1 billion for permanent membership in his new Peace Council, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. Critics fear that Trump is trying to build an entity that is an alternative or rival to the UN.

The end of diplomacy as we know it? Trump creates 'UN substitute'

According to the draft statute of the Council, obtained by Bloomberg, President Trump is to be its chairman and will decide who will be invited to join this body.

Decisions are to be made by majority vote, and each country belonging to this format would have one vote. All decisions would be approved by the chairman at the end.

The draft states that each country belonging to the Council would be a member for no more than three years from the entry into force of the statute. The chairman would decide on the renewal of membership. The three-year membership period does not apply to countries that will contribute more than $1 billion to the Peace Council within the first year of the statute's entry into force.

Bloomberg emphasized that critics of this solution fear that Trump is trying to build an alternative or even rival to the UN, which he has long condemned.

The statute of the Peace Council was leaked online. “A billion is just an option”

The council is described in its statute as “an international organization to promote stability, restore reliable and lawful governance and ensure lasting peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”

The agency noted that the Peace Council governing the Gaza Strip would operate under the auspices of the Peace Council. Trump invited a number of world leaders to join the Gaza Peace Council, including Argentine leader Javier Milei and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The plan was criticized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who emphasized that the solution had not been consulted with his country.

Several European countries have been invited to the council, according to people familiar with the plan.

The White House-affiliated X account Rapid Response 47 rated the Bloomberg report as “misleading.”

“There is no minimum membership fee to join the Peace Council. It simply provides the opportunity for permanent membership to partner countries that demonstrate a deep commitment to peace, security and prosperity,” it said.

As the Financial Times reported on Friday, American officials presented the idea that the Peace Council, which is to manage the Gaza Strip, would also deal with other conflicts in the world, including in Ukraine and Venezuela. One person familiar with the plan told the newspaper that the Trump administration sees the Peace Council as “a potential substitute for the UN, … a kind of parallel, unofficial body dealing with conflicts outside Gaza as well.”

From Washington Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP)

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