The invitation extended by US President Donald Trump to a select group of countries, including Cyprus, has prompted questions and concern at an international level. The White House reportedly does not deny that the proposal to participate in a proposed Gaza Peace Council, may entail a financial contribution.
In a social media post, former foreign minister Erato Kozakou‑Marcoullis outlines why the initiative poses a serious challenge to the international legal order and, in particular, to countries such as Cyprus.
A new body rivaling the UN
Marcoullis argues that the proposed Peace Council, as presented, is not confined to Gaza or the Israel–Hamas conflict. Instead, it appears to be evolving into a new international organisation with a broad mandate, one that could rival, or even supplant, the United Nations.
She highlights as a central concern the financial dimension reportedly included in the Council’s charter. Under this provision, states contributing more than $1 billion would secure privileged, effectively unlimited, participation in the new framework. Such a structure, she says, undermines the principle of equal participation among states and introduces a system in which influence is directly tied to financial power and to the political will of the US president.
Risks for Cyprus’ core interests
Marcoullis stresses that the Republic of Cyprus has grounded its survival and international standing on international law and the United Nations. Against this backdrop, participation in, or even tacit acceptance of, a new body that appears to weaken the authority and role of the UN carries serious risks for Cyprus’ national interests, particularly with regard to the Cyprus problem.
Call for transparency
The former foreign minister calls on President Nikos Christodoulides to make public the letter he received from President Trump, as well as the charter of the proposed organisation attached to the invitation.
“It is important for President Christodoulides to publish the letter he received from President Trump, as well as the charter of the new organisation, and to state Cyprus’ position on the apparent intention of President Trump to establish a new international body that would stand in opposition to the United Nations, an organisation he has sought to undermine relentlessly, both during his first term and now in his second,” Marcoullis wrote.