Germany expressed strong surprise at the Peace Council plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, and Berlin now faces questions that must be discussed with the American side.
This was stated by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful in an interview with Welt am Sonntag.
Germany’s Stance on the Peace Council
“Our readiness to participate in resolving the conflict and improving the situation in the Gaza Strip remains unchanged. The Peace Council existed up to now only as a concept. And indeed, everyone was very interested in what its charter would look like. The current draft surprised us a lot. Accordingly, we still have many questions that need to be discussed with the United States”
– Johann Wadeful
The minister also stressed that the UN and its Security Council remain central to securing reliable agreements, including a potential settlement to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“Agreements and their architects have always existed and will always exist. There is nothing wrong with that. This also concerns two permanent members of the Security Council – the United States and Russia – who, among other things, are negotiating. When it later comes to the specifics and implementation of such arrangements, the Security Council will be needed again”
– German Minister
He emphasized the importance of ensuring a mechanism to implement any agreements.
“So that a ceasefire does not turn into a pause for preparing new wars, mere agreements are not enough. Arrangements must be reliable. Such reliability can be provided only by the international order we built after World War II, with the United Nations at its center”
– Johann Wadeful
In context of events, it is also noted that former Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Germany cannot accept the Peace Council’s leadership structures in their current configuration, but leaves open the possibility of cooperation within the constitutional principles of the FRG.
Italy has also expressed its intention to change the configuration of the Peace Council: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has asked the U.S. president to make the joining format to the Peace Council more convenient for Italy and other countries.
Coordination of procedures and cooperation with allies remain the main topics of discussion, as this concerns the future format of global peacekeeping mechanisms and security guarantees in the region and more broadly on the international stage.