‘Board of Peace’
Trump’s Board of Peace was created after Trump expressed frustration at failing to win the Nobel Peace Prize and ramped up accusations the United Nations had failed to resolve a host of international conflicts.
“Well this is exciting,” Trump said as he was joined on stage by leaders and officials from 19 countries to sign the board’s founding charter in the Swiss ski resort.
“This board has the chance to be one of the most consequential bodies ever created,” he said.
The body, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the reconstruction of the strip after the war between Hamas and Israel.
But its purpose has since morphed into resolving all sorts of international conflicts, sparking concerns that Trump wants to create a rival to the UN.
Key US allies including France and Britain have expressed doubts.
Countries have been asked to pay US$1 billion for permanent membership of the board, and the invitation for Putin, whose country invaded Ukraine in 2022, has drawn criticism.
Trump said the organisation would work “in conjunction” with the United Nations.
Gaza ‘master plan’
A large part of the ceremony was devoted to talking about its plans for shattered Gaza.
Gaza’s newly appointed administrator said in a video message that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip would reopen in both directions next week.
Then Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, like the President a former property developer, showed slides of what he billed as a “master plan” for Gaza’s reconstruction.
They included maps of new settlements and artist renderings of gleaming seafront hotels and apartments under the caption “New Gaza”.
“It could be a hope. It could be a destination,” Kushner said.
Trump told Hamas to disarm under the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire accord or it would be the “end of them”. He added that he was ready to “talk” with regional foe Iran.
‘Not so popular’
The representatives of the 19 countries on stage with Trump included two close populist allies, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Argentine President Javier Milei, and officials from a host of Middle Eastern monarchies keen to curry favour.
Trump said he expected around 50 countries to join – including Putin, though the latter said he was still studying the invitation.
Zelenskyy, also invited, has said he could not envisage working alongside the Russian leader.
Trump said he was hopeful of a deal soon to end the Ukraine war, and Zelenskyy told the forum that documents being drafted with Washington to end the war were “nearly, nearly ready”.
Zelenskyy has voiced concern that Trump’s push to seize Greenland – which dominated Davos on Wednesday – could divert focus away from Russia’s invasion.
Tensions over Greenland eased, however, after Trump announced a “framework of a future deal” over the Danish territory and dropped his threat to hit European allies with new tariffs.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the Arctic island wanted a “peaceful dialogue” with Washington and it wanted to remain part of Denmark for now.
“We have some red lines,” he told a press conference. “We have to respect our territorial integrity. We have to respect international law, sovereignty.”
Global stock markets rallied with relief at Trump’s Greenland climbdown, riding what some called the “TACO” trade – y – for “Trump Always Chickens Out”.
But as European leaders gathered in Brussels for a summit, worries lingered over lasting damage to transatlantic ties.
- Agence France-Presse
