US President Donald Trump showcased his new “Board of Peace” at Davos on Thursday — burnishing his claim to be a peacemaker a day after backing off his own threats against Greenland.
Trump hosted the signing ceremony for the founding charter of his body for resolving international conflicts, which has a $1-billion price tag for permanent membership.
That membership has, however, proved controversial, with the inclusion of leaders like 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.
Other members include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, while Pope Leo XVI has also been sent an invitation.
UK snub
“This is the greatest board ever assembled,” Trump, who is the chairman of the board, told reporters including AFP on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort.
“Yeah, I have some controversial people on it, but these are people who get the job done, these are people who have tremendous influence.”
Originally meant to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza after the war between Hamas and Israel, the board’s charter does not limit its role to the Strip, and has sparked concerns that Trump wants it to rival the United Nations.
“It’s going to get a lot of work done that the United Nations should have done,” added Trump.
Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed skepticism, with the UK saying Thursday it would not attend the ceremony.
But others have signed up, particularly in the Middle East, where Trump-friendly Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt have agreed to join.
About 35 world leaders have committed so far out of the 50 or so invitations that went out, a senior Trump administration official told reporters on Wednesday.
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.
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 said he would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos after the “Board of Peace” ceremony to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine — the major peace deal that continues to elude him.
The two leaders will meet at 1 p.m. (1200 GMT), the Ukrainian presidency said, with Zelensky due to address the Davos forum some 90 minutes later.
Military talks
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is due to travel to Moscow to meet Putin later Thursday, said in Davos that talks to end the war had made a “lot of progress” and were down to one issue.
“I think we’ve got it down to one issue, and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it’s solvable,” said Witkoff, without saying what the issue was.
Witkoff added that he and the US leader’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would not stay in Moscow overnight but fly straight to Abu Dhabi for “military to military” talks.
Russia deal
Davos on Wednesday, Trump repeated his oft-stated belief that Putin and Zelensky were close to a deal, although he has veered between blaming one or the other for the lack of a ceasefire so far.
Trump has long been a skeptic of US support for Ukraine and says that it is now up to NATO and Europe to back Kyiv. But his belief that he has a personal connection with Putin has not brought an end to the war so far.
Zelensky 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 1 February.
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.
Rutte told AFP in Davos that the meeting had been “very good” but that there was “still a lot of work to be done” on Greenland.
Trump insists the mineral-rich Arctic island is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China.
