Mexico Rejects Full Membership in Trump's Peace Council

Mexico City (ANTARA) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday (17/2) that Mexico would not participate as a full member of the US-led Peace Council overseeing the Gaza ceasefire plan due to the lack of Palestinian representation.

“Given that we recognise Palestine as a state, it is important that both countries, Israel and Palestine, participate. However, the system was not designed that way,” she said at a press conference.

Sheinbaum said her country would send Mexico’s ambassador to the UN as an observer.

“They invited us to attend as an observer; if we are not going to participate, then we will attend as an observer. And together with the foreign minister, we decided that our ambassador to the UN would attend as an observer,” she added.

The statement was made ahead of the council’s inaugural meeting on Thursday in Washington, DC.

Sheinbaum has expressed her support for Palestine, describing Israel’s continued assault on the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian people as genocide and calling for a two-state solution.

Although the US has provided at least 21.7 billion dollars in military aid to Israel since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October 2023, during which Israel has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, Trump announced a US-led body aimed at restoring peace in the region.

The Peace Council comprises staunch US allies in Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, and Latin America.