Washington, United States. President Donald Trump has invited Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Washington for the first meeting of his so-called “Peace Council”. The meeting is scheduled for 19 February and will focus on Gaza.
Invitations and expected decisions
A US official confirmed to Hellas Journal that invitations have been sent to the leaders of Cyprus and Greece. Both Christodoulides and Mitsotakis are expected to decide in the coming days whether they will accept.
Greece assessing participation
Athens is currently assessing the invitation. According to information cited, Greece has been asked to take part in a session of the “Board of Peace” dealing with the implementation of the second phase of the peace plan for Gaza’s reconstruction, due to take place in Washington later this month.
List of invited countries
Despite refusals from most EU member states — with the exception of Hungary and Bulgaria — Trump has issued invitations, hoping some capitals will reconsider.
The report said that, besides Greece and Cyprus, invitations were sent within the EU to Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Hungary and Sweden.
Outside the EU, invitations have gone to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, India, Australia, Belarus and Norway.
Focus on Netanyahu and Erdoğan
The meeting will take place on 19 February, but attention is focused on whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will sit at the same table.
Netanyahu had initially scheduled a visit to the White House one day earlier and has not publicly said whether he will attend Trump’s Peace Council the following day. He has decided to change the date of his visit and will now meet Trump this coming Wednesday, the 11th.
Will Cyprus and Greece accept the invitation to attend the Peace Council meeting in Washington?
