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Trump Asks for $1 Billion from Countries Participating in the Gaza Peace Council

Published January 18, 2026, 13:19

A draft of the statute of the Peace Council sent to about 60 countries by the US Government asks members to contribute $1 billion in cash if they want their participation to last more than three years, according to the document seen by Reuters. “Each Member State shall serve a term not exceeding three years from the effective date of this Statute, with the possibility of renewal by the President,” the document states, which was first published by Bloomberg News. “The three-year participation term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than $1,000,000,000 USD in cash to the Peace Council within the first year of the Statute’s effective date.” Commenting on the matter, the Deputy Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said that the invitation extended by the US President to the President Christodoulides to participate in the Peace Council for Gaza does not entail financial obligations or the payment of any amount by the Republic of Cyprus, reports the Deputy Government Spokesman, Konstantinos Letymbiotis. In a statement to KYPE, Mr. Letymbiotis stated that the President of the Republic of Cyprus received an official invitation letter from the President of the United States to participate in the Peace Council for Gaza, while also recognizing Cyprus’s role in the Middle East region. “Whether some consider this fact commonplace or negligible is solely at their discretion and their political perception of the country’s international position.” He adds that the Republic of Cyprus has received the invitation, is evaluating it “seriously, with institutional responsibility and full awareness of its role and capabilities and will take an official position when this process is completed.” Mr. Letymbiotis emphasizes that regarding the claims circulating about an alleged obligation to pay sums of money, these do not correspond to reality in relation to the invitation received by the Republic of Cyprus. “The invitation concerns participation as a member for a period of three years, with the possibility of renewal upon new invitation, and in no way entails financial obligations or the payment of any amount by the Republic of Cyprus,” he stresses. As he notes, the references concern potentially different legal regimes or options for a permanent legal entity that could be considered by states that wish it and only, and “are not directly or indirectly related to the invitation received by our country, therefore any connection of the Republic of Cyprus with such claims is unfounded and misleading.” At the same time, the Deputy Government Spokesman emphasizes that the invitation itself explicitly recognizes Cyprus’s role in the wider Middle East region, which acquires particular political significance when this recognition…