Davos, Jan 22: President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated his Board of Peace to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting that “everyone wants to be a part” of the body that could eventually rival the United Nations – despite many US allies opting not to participate.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future of the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize Greenland, then by a dramatic retreat from that push.
“This isn’t the United States, this is for the world,” he said, adding, “I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.”
The event featured Ali Shaath, the head of a new, future technocratic government in Gaza, announcing that the Rafah border crossing will open in both directions next week. That’s after Israel said in early December it would open the crossing, which runs between Gaza and Egypt, but has yet to do so.
Shaath, an engineer and former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza, is overseeing the Palestinian committee set to govern the territory under US supervision.
The new peace board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire, but it has morphed into something far more ambitious – and scepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington to take a pass.
Trump tried not to let those not participating ruin his unveiling party, saying 59 countries had signed onto the board – even though heads of state, top diplomats and other officials from only 19 countries plus the US actually attended. He told the group, ranging from Azerbaijan to Paraguay to Hungary, “You’re the most powerful people in the world.”
Trump has spoken about the board replacing some UN functions and perhaps even making that entire body obsolete one day. But he was more conciliatory in his remarks on the sidelines of the forum in the Swiss alps.
“We’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” Trump said, even as he denigrated the UN for doing what he said wasn’t enough to calm some conflicts around the globe.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that some countries’ leaders have indicated they plan to join but still require approval from their parliaments, and the Trump administration says it has also gotten queries about membership from countries that hadn’t been invited to participate yet.
Why some countries aren’t participating
Big questions remain, however, about what the eventual board will look like.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country is still consulting with Moscow’s “strategic partners” before deciding to commit. The Russian president on Thursday is due to host Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for talks in Moscow.
Others are asking why Putin and other authoritarian leaders had even been invited to join.
Britain’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said her country wasn’t signing on “because this is about a legal treaty that raises much broader issues”.
“And we do also have concerns about President Putin being part of something which is talking about peace, when we have still not seen any signs from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine,” she told the BBC.
Norway and Sweden have indicated they won’t participate, after France also said no. French officials stressed that while they support the Gaza peace plan, they were concerned the board could seek to replace the UN as the main venue for resolving conflicts.
Canada, Ukraine, China and the executive arm of the European Union also haven’t committed. Trump calling off the steep tariffs he threatened over Greenland could ease some allies’ reluctance, but the issue is still far from settled.
The Kremlin said Thursday that Putin plans to discuss his proposal to send $1 billion to the Board of Peace and use it for humanitarian purposes during his talks with Abbas. But it noted that the use of those assets will require the US action to unblock them.
Zelenskyy meeting
Trump also spoke behind closed doors for about an hour with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived Thursday in Davos. Trump called the discussion “very good” but announced no major breakthroughs and said the pair didn’t discuss many European nations shunning the Board of Peace.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected in Moscow for talks. Still, the Republican president has for months struggled to get Zelenskyy and Putin to agree to terms to end their nearly 4-year-old war, and he continues to express frustration about it.
“We hope it’s going to end,” Trump told reporters after his meeting with Zelenskyy. (AP)
