By Lucy Davalou
Published on
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” aimed at resolving conflicts globally and oversee governance and reconstruction in Gaza, the Kremlin said on Monday.
“President Putin also received an invitation to join this Board of Peace,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday.
Russia was seeking to “clarify all the nuances” of the offer with Washington, he said, without adding if Putin was inclined to join.
The White House has reached out to various figures around the world to sit on the so-called “Board of Peace” which is chaired by Trump himself.
But the invitation to Putin is expected to raise eyebrows with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearing its fourth year and the Russian leader seemingly reluctant to commit to a peace deal.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s executive arm and Thailand were also asked to join the board which was slammed by a top Israeli official on Monday as “bad for Israel.”
European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill confirmed that Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the commission, received an invitation and would be speaking to other EU leaders about Gaza.
Gill didn’t say whether the invitation has been accepted, but that the commission wants “to contribute to a comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict.”
It’s unclear how many leaders have been invited to join the board. But a Trump reference in the invitation letters that the body would “embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict” suggested it could act as a rival to the UN Security Council, the most powerful body of the global organisation created in the wake of World War II.
Israeli far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich dismissed the Board of Peace as a raw deal for Israel on Monday and called for its dissolution.
“It is time to explain to the president that his plan is bad for the State of Israel and to cancel it,” Smotrich said at a ceremony inaugurating the new Yatziv settlement in the occupied West Bank.
“Gaza is ours, its future will affect our future more than anyone else’s. We will take responsibility for what happens there, impose military administration and complete the mission.”
Smotrich even suggested that Israel renew a full-scale offensive on Gaza to destroy Hamas if it doesn’t abide by a “short ultimatum for real disarmament and exile.”
On Saturday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the formation of the committee wasn’t coordinated with the Israeli government and “is contrary to its policy.”
The US is expected to announce its official list of members in the coming days, likely during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Board members will oversee an executive committee that will be in charge of implementing the tough second phase of the Gaza peace plan that includes the deployment of an international security force, disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction of the war-devastated territory.
A $1 billion contribution secures permanent membership on the board with the money going to rebuild Gaza, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity about the charter, which hasn’t been made public.
But details of how this will also work remain murky. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that the UK is talking to allies about the Board of Peace.
Although the UK hasn’t said whether Starmer has been formally invited to join, he said it’s necessary to proceed with the Gaza peace plan’s second phase and that his country has “indicated willingness, to play our part, and we will.”
Additional sources • AP, AFP
