President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis are leaning towards accepting Donald Trump’s invitation to his “Peace Council” in Washington, a sharp contrast to their avoidance the Davos summit invitation last month.
Government sources in Nicosia said the first reaction appears positive because the invitation focuses exclusively on Gaza’s reconstruction. Both capitals have until Wednesday to confirm whether they will attend the 19 February summit at the Donald Trump Peace Institute in Washington.
Government sources in Athens confirmed to ERT that the invitation has been received and is being assessed.
Why this invitation is different
Both leaders rejected Trump’s Davos summit invitation in January, following most EU member states who declined after the American president threatened to annex Greenland. That controversy prompted widespread EU reluctance to participate in any Trump initiative.
But Nicosia and Athens had made clear at the time that they would have no problem attending if the summit concerned Gaza reconstruction as defined by the UN Security Council resolution.
The new invitation focuses on that issue, smoothing the path for both leaders to accept. They can frame their participation as purely about Gaza reconstruction and fundraising, according to the Axios news site, which first reported the planned summit.
The Hellas Journal broke the story yesterday morning that Trump had sent fresh invitations to the Cypriot and Greek leaders for the “Peace Council” he founded.
An official confirmed the invitations were sent but declined to give further details. Both leaders will respond in the coming days.
Other invitees
The Hellas Journal reported that invitations went to Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Hungary and Sweden beyond Cyprus and Greece. Hungary and Bulgaria attended the Davos event.
Arab and Middle Eastern countries invited include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and Pakistan.
Other invitees are Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, India, Australia, Belarus and Norway.
Invitation details
The invitation asks distinguished figures to attend the founding meeting of the “Peace Council” on 19 February 2026 at 10am at the Donald J Trump Peace Institute in Washington.
Invitees must complete a response form by Wednesday 10 February. Summit details will be sent on the 16th of this month.
The greatest enemies and the early visitor
The summit could see Netanyahu and Erdogan, now the “greatest enemies” globally, in the same city, the Hellas Journal notes.
The Israeli prime minister was scheduled to meet Trump on 18 February at the White House. However, reports say the visit date changed to 11 February. Netanyahu may still return to Washington for the Peace Council.
No special meeting between Trump and Erdogan has been set.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, one of Trump’s closest EU allies, has already confirmed he will attend. He told a campaign rally in Sombathely in western Hungary that in two weeks he will travel to Washington to participate in the Peace Council meeting.