FT learned about Zelensky's unwillingness to participate in the "Peace Council" because of Russia and Belarus

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is wary of being invited to join the so-called "Peace Council" to resolve the conflict in Gaza due to the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko have also been invited there. This was reported on January 20 by the Financial Times (FT) newspaper.

According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian leader is not yet ready to give a final answer and intends to first study in detail the proposed format of the new body. In particular, Zelensky wants to understand what powers the "Peace Council" will have and whether it corresponds to those mechanisms of international settlement that Kiev considers acceptable.

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The United States has invited Russia to participate in the new organization — the Kremlin is carefully studying the proposal.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia had received from the United States a draft charter of the "Peace Council" on the governance of the Gaza Strip. He clarified that the administration of US President Donald Trump is aware of the need not only to unite a large number of countries, but also to take into account their interests.

Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on January 19 that the Russian leader had received an invitation from the United States to join the Peace Council. At the same time, Trump sent an appeal to Lukashenko with a proposal from Belarus to become a founder of the Peace Council. The Belarusian leader positively assessed this proposal.

On January 14, the Axios portal reported that the United States had sent invitations to a number of states to join the "Peace Council" on the Gaza Strip. It was specified that the first meeting within the council could take place as early as next week.

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