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- By a subtle calculation: the countries of the Middle East supported the "Peace Council"
By a subtle calculation: the countries of the Middle East supported the "Peace Council"
The leaders of Western countries have so far refused to join the new international structure, the Peace Council, initiated by Donald Trump. The media cites competition with existing international organizations as one of the reasons. At the same time, the American leader's idea is treated differently in the Middle East. Jordan, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, supported her. Izvestia figured out why they needed it.
The UN Alternative
The foreign ministers of eight Muslim countries, including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, "welcome the invitation extended to their leaders by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump," and decided to join the "Peace Council", supporting his initiative.
Now each State, most of which are Middle Eastern, will have to sign the necessary documents in accordance with their legal and other necessary procedures. Representatives of some countries have already done this.
Formally, the initiative is intended as a mechanism for monitoring compliance with agreements in the Gaza Strip, but the American leader promised to "promote peace" in other conflict-affected regions. The site is designed as a full-fledged international organization with its own rules, governing bodies and membership.
The organizers prepared the charter of the authority and sent it to the participants along with the invitations. The Western media regard this project as an attempt to create a more flexible and effective mechanism, an alternative to the UN Security Council, which the American leader constantly reproached for inaction.
According to the idea of the US president, each state will receive one vote, and decisions will be made by a majority, but they will take effect only after the approval of the chairman of the "Peace Council", Donald Trump, who will also approve the final composition of the organization's members.
To obtain permanent membership, each country must contribute $1 billion in the first year, which is planned to be used to rebuild the destroyed Gaza Strip.
The countries of the Middle East have their own interests
Vasily Ostanin-Golovnya, a researcher at the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East at the INION RAS, notes in an interview with Izvestia that the support of Donald Trump's initiative to create a "Peace Council" from a number of Middle Eastern states is explained not so much by enthusiasm for the idea itself as by their pragmatic considerations.
— First of all, the sphere of foreign policy interests, as well as the desire to maintain beneficial relations with Washington for states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, — the expert believes.
According to him, for these countries, participation in the initiative is a way to demonstrate loyalty to their main ally without entering into direct confrontation with other global axis centers.
— Saudi Arabia, as a regional leader, seeks to strengthen its role as an indispensable, key partner of the United States in the Middle East. At the same time, official support from the Saudis does not mean unconditional approval of all aspects of Trump's initiative, the expert believes.
He added that Qatar's participation in the Peace Council could be seen as an opportunity to strengthen its image as a responsible international player, a mediator in current conflicts in the region, and to ease pressure from some of its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
"Jordan has been acting as a moderate link in the region since the 1970s, and the country sees the initiative to create a Peace Council as a potential channel for advancing its own priorities, primarily protecting the interests of the Palestinians and stabilizing the situation on the border with Israel and Syria," the orientalist said.
Amman is not able to fully ensure its own security, although it has a fairly effective and powerful army by the standards of the region. According to Ostanin-Golovni, Jordan expects that participation in such a dialogue platform, albeit symbolic, will allow it to maintain its voice in international discussions on key issues in the Middle East.
"Egypt has traditionally sought to balance between different centers of power, so supporting Trump's initiative corresponds to Cairo's general line of strengthening the country's role as a center of diplomatic settlement in the Arab world, and also opens up additional opportunities to receive American support: political, economic, and military," the analyst explained.
Europe is against it
Meanwhile, in Europe, Trump's initiative was met with hostility. According to Politico, Brussels is repelled by the ambiguity of the mandate of the "Council", whose charter does not explicitly mention the Gaza Strip, and fears that the "Peace Council" could become an alternative to the UN.
The invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to take part in the work of the "Council" caused particular concern among European allies. According to The Financial Times, Germany fears that the new council will destroy international law. Britain, Italy and Poland are still "expressing doubts," while Norway has already declined to participate.
The real scandal broke out in connection with the statement of French President Emmanuel Macron. Earlier, it became known about Paris' intention to reject Trump's invitation due to fears of reducing the influence of the United Nations. In response, Trump said he would force the French president to join the "Peace Council" and threatened him with duties on French wine and champagne in the amount of 200%.
From the Middle Eastern countries, Trump's initiative was treated rather ambiguously in Israel. Initially, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office objected to the participation of Turkey and Qatar, which Israel accuses of links to the Hamas group. The brief statement said that the committee was formed without the consent of the Israeli government and "contradicts its policy."
And the far-right in the government not only rejected the American initiative, but also criticized the prime minister for "his inability to annex the Palestinian territory and create new Israeli settlements there."
However, subsequently, the head of the Cabinet of Ministers of the country agreed to join the "Peace Council".
The American-Centric New World
As Danila Krylov, a researcher at the Department of the Middle and Post-Soviet East at the INION RAS, explained in an interview with Izvestia, Israel plays an important role in this initiative, since it is impossible to reach an agreement on Gaza without it.
— All other players in general can be forced to conclude agreements. For the United States, Israel is a fairly important player, especially now that the issue of a potential US—Iranian conflict is in the air," the expert noted.
The political scientist believes that so far no country in the world as a whole understands Trump's next idea.
— The US president had many different initiatives: a plan for Gas, and ideas for ending the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, resolving the issue with Greenland and the issue of Iran with its nuclear program. Besides, Americans really like to give beautiful names," the expert believes.
The orientalist added that, as a rule, multilateral organizations do not work well in the Middle East. It is much better when they are subordinate to a specific leader.
Krylov also recalled that America already has experience in creating international structures with unclear potential, and cited the example of the League of Nations created by Woodrow Wilson after World War I, which, according to him, eventually ended World War II.
— There is no practical further component to this Trump initiative, and I doubt that it will appear, — the analyst is sure.
Krylov added that the situation with the $1 billion entry fee to the Peace Council is also not entirely clear. This is a small amount for the Gulf monarchies, while it is quite significant for Egypt and Turkey.
"Ankara, despite the difficult financial and economic situation, is ready to spend money on geopolitical projects that it considers important for advancing its national interests," the political scientist believes.
According to him, in general, participation in the "Council" now is an opportunity to participate in a discussion platform and see what happens. At the same time, for Middle Eastern countries, this is a "long game" in case it turns out that the American leader is thus creating an alternative to the UN and the entire eurocentric world order, making it American-centric.
Ostanin-Golovnya shares a similar position. He believes that the support of the "Peace Council" by the Arab states of the Middle East is not an act of ideological solidarity with Trump.
"This is rather a calculated step within the framework of their long—term strategy to ensure security and stability in the region and promote their own foreign policy interests, which largely depend on relations with Washington," the Arabist concluded.
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