Meloni to Trump's "peace council" meeting

TT

Published 12.29

 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni greets US President Donald Trump. Archive photo taken in Egypt last fall. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP/TT

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is apparently attending as an observer when US President Donald Trump's "peace council" holds its first meeting this week.

Romanian President Nicușor Dan is also traveling to the meeting in Washington DC as an observer, writes the news site Euractiv.

Meloni, who co-founded the right-wing nationalist Brothers of Italy, is considered one of the EU leaders who has the best contact with Trump. She says that observer status in the council is a "good solution" as there are constitutional challenges with full membership.

The council is chaired by Trump. 19 countries were involved when it was formally founded in Davos in January and since then a few more have joined. However, most of the invited Western countries, including Sweden, have declined.

The next step in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is on the agenda at Thursday's meeting.