The White House administration released the list of participants in the ‘Peace Council’ initiative, but mistakenly included Belgium, mixing it up with Belarus.
In the publication, Belgium appeared among the Middle East, Asia, and Latin American countries that allegedly joined this initiative.
Subsequently, the Belgian government said that this was a mistake, and the ministry confirmed: the United States mixed up Belgium with Belarus.
“Belgium did NOT sign the Peace Council treaty. This announcement is false. We want a united and coordinated European response. Like many other European countries, we have reservations about this proposal”
– Belgian Foreign Minister Maxim Prevo
Timeline of events and the response of the global community
Instead, no EU country joined the initiative. At first, Trump presented the ‘Peace Council’ as a mechanism for rebuilding Gaza, but the document has a much broader mandate.
On January 20, it became known that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko signed a letter expressing the country’s readiness to join the ‘Peace Council’ and to implement its provisions.
From the perspective of Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to join this union does not “legitimize” his opponent.
What is Trump’s ‘Peace Council’: On January 14, 2026, the United States announced the launch of the second phase of the plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip. The body includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Council is to perform the functions of an external administration for the Palestinian enclave, responsible for security, reconstruction coordination, and humanitarian aid until the Palestinian National Authority is reformed.
According to Western media, the United States is offering other countries a ‘permanent seat’ on the Council for $1 billion.