US President Donald Trump kicked off his new "Board of Peace" at Davos on Thursday, with a signing ceremony for a body with a US$1-billion membership fee and a controversial list of invitees.
A group of leaders and senior officials from 19 countries – including Trump allies from Argentina and Hungary – gathered on stage with the US president to put their names to the founding charter of the body.
Trump – who unsurprisingly is also the chairman of the Board of Peace – said they were "in most cases very popular leaders, some cases not so popular. That's the way it goes in life."
Originally meant to oversee peace in Gaza after the war between Hamas and Israel, the board’s charter envisions a wider role in resolving international conflicts, sparking concerns that Trump wants it to rival the United Nations.
Trump however said the organisation would work “in conjunction” with the UN.
The Board of Peace’s potential membership has however proved controversial, with Trump having invited Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine four years ago. Trump said Putin had agreed to join, while the Russian leader said he was still studying the invite.
Permanent members must also pay US $1 billion to join, leading to criticisms that the board could become a “pay to play” version of the UN Security Council.
Trump initially proposed the board as part of a peace plan for war-torn Gaza, tasked with helping oversee its reconstruction.
But a draft charter seen by Bloomberg suggested a broader remit to “secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict,” an expansive vision that has alarmed many US partners who worry it will seek to rival – and undercut – the UN.
UK, France snub
Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed scepticism, with the UK saying Thursday it would not attend the ceremony.
The members on stage largely held close ties to Trump, including Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Argentina’s Javier Milei, or a wish to show their allegiance to the US president.
Officials from Bahrain, Morocco, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Mongolia also signed the document with Trump.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over the war in Gaza, has said he will join but was not at the ceremony.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the ceremony that the board’s focus was “first and foremost on making sure that this peace deal in Gaza becomes enduring.”
Trump, however, said Hamas must disarm under the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire accord or it will be the “end of them.”
The launch of the board comes against the backdrop of Trump’s frustration at having failed to win the Nobel Peace Prize, despite his disputed claim to have ended eight conflicts.
Leaders joined Trump at a table to sign documents, which White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said put the board’s charter “in full force” and made it an “official international organisation.”
The inclusion of Putin has caused particular concern among US allies, but especially in Ukraine as it seeks an end to Moscow’s nearly four-year-old invasion.
Trump was due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Davos at press time to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine – the major peace deal that continues to elude him.
Zelenskyy has meanwhile voiced fears that Trump’s push to seize Greenland – which has dominated Davos so far and threatened to unravel the transatlantic alliance – could divert focus away from Russia’s invasion of his country.
Trump however said late Wednesday he had reached a “framework of a future deal” after meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte, and that he would therefore waive tariffs scheduled to hit European allies on February 1. He gave no further details, leaving Europeans drawing only cautious sighs of relief.
A source close to the talks told AFP that a 1951 Greenland defence pact would be renegotiated as part of the deal.
– TIMES/AFP/BLOOMBERG
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