After major European powers said they wouldboad not join, US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to take part in the Board of Peace initially created to address the Gaza Strip, a move that could shake the global order.
Putin, however, said Russia’s Foreign Ministry was still reviewing the proposal and added that Moscow would be willing to pay the $1 billion fee Trump has demanded for permanent membership only using Russian assets frozen following the war in Ukraine.
Trump claims Putin agreed to join the board
(Footage: In accordance with Section 27A)
Trump has invited 59 leaders from around the world to join the board, which is meant to oversee the ceasefire agreement he brokered in Gaza and to address other conflicts as well. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already agreed to participate, as have Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Qatar. In a joint statement, those countries confirmed their participation in the Gaza-focused Board of Peace. Turkey will be represented by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Trump: ‘Iran must stop its nuclear program’
(Footage: In accordance with Section 27)
4 View gallery
Trump and Putin at a historic summit in Alaska, August
(Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Putin was invited to join the board three days ago. According to Russia’s RIA news agency, the decision on whether to participate was discussed during a meeting Putin held with Russia’s National Security Council. “Moscow will respond to the invitation only after the Foreign Ministry studies the document and holds consultations with strategic partners,” Putin was quoted as saying.
Earlier Wednesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she could not immediately respond to Trump’s invitation and needed more time to consider the issue. Germany has also declined to join, according to Der Spiegel, and France has likewise said it will not participate, amid tensions between President Emmanuel Macron and the US president.
Speaking to reporters in Davos, Trump said of the Board of Peace, “Everyone wants to be in it. Yes, there are controversial people who want to be in it, but they get the job done and they have extraordinary influence. Putin was invited and he agreed. Many agreed. I don’t know anyone who didn’t.”
4 View gallery
European leaders meet Trump in August as Europe stays out and Putin may join
(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Imagesº)
Trump said the board would be “the most prestigious council ever,” adding that it would do much of the work the United Nations was supposed to do. “We will work with the UN, but the Board of Peace will be special,” he said. “It started in Gaza. We have tremendous peace in the Middle East. Nobody thought it was possible. It happened with the destruction of the Iranian nuclear threat. Otherwise it could not have happened.”
‘Who can say no to Trump?’
So far, countries that have publicly accepted the invitation include Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco, Qatar, Jordan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Argentina, Belarus, Kosovo and Pakistan. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said between 20 and 25 leaders have already agreed to join. China has also been invited but has not yet confirmed its participation.
According to reports, the signing ceremony for the board’s charter is scheduled for Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Trump spoke Wednesday evening. Reuters reported that diplomats from several regions said Trump’s invitation felt “less like a choice and more like no choice at all.” A Western official pointed to US positions on tariffs, Iran, Venezuela, Gaza and Greenland as examples of how difficult it is to refuse Washington. “Who can say no to Trump?” an Arab official was quoted as saying.
4 View gallery
Protest in Greenland against Trump’s plan to take control of the vast island
(Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka/ AP)
Putin’s response came against the backdrop of rising tensions in recent days between European leaders and Trump over US intentions regarding Greenland, which is owned by Denmark. The rhetoric escalated before easing somewhat Wednesday, when Trump said he and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had reached a “framework” for a Greenland deal. Trump also announced he would not impose planned tariffs on European countries that opposed his Greenland moves.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was also invited, expressed doubt earlier this week about sitting in the same body with someone he has called a war criminal, as well as with Belarus, a Russian ally. Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy said his diplomats were reviewing the invitation but added, “Honestly, Russia is our enemy. Belarus is its ally. It is very hard for me to imagine how we could be together with Russia in the same board. Russia is a board of war.”
4 View gallery
Trump and protests in Iran: ‘We hope there will be no future action’
(Photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP, Anonymous/Getty Images)
In an interview with CNBC following the announcement of understandings with NATO, Trump also addressed Iran and growing tensions between Washington and Tehran over the possibility of a US strike on the Iranian regime, which he accused of killing civilians who protested against it. Trump said Iran must stop pursuing nuclear weapons and warned that future action remains an option if it does not. “They have to stop with the nuclear,” he said. “We hope there will be no future action. They are shooting people in the streets.” At a White House news conference earlier this week before flying to Switzerland, Trump said the Board of Peace, initially planned for Gaza, “could” replace the United Nations. “The UN just doesn’t help very much. I am a big fan of the potential of the UN, but it has never lived up to its potential,” he said, while stressing that the organization should continue to operate. “The UN should have solved every one of the wars I solved,” Trump added, repeating his claim that he ended “eight wars or more,” a line he frequently cites in complaining that he has not received the Nobel Peace Prize. This week, he also said that because he did not receive the prize, he is “no longer obligated to think only about peace.”