According to U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to join his newly proposed Board of Peace for Gaza.
“He was invited. He’s accepted,” Trump told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, referring to Putin.
At a meeting of Russia’s Security Council later that day, Putin did not, however, formally confirm the acceptance. Rather, he cast doubt on Trump’s claim by stating that Moscow would “consult with our strategic partners” while the Russian Foreign Ministry examined the invitation’s specifics.
The Board of Peace would be in charge of Gaza’s political transition and reconstruction as part of Trump’s larger 20-point plan to put an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict. There have reportedly been invitations to participate from dozens of nations in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and other regions.
Reactions to the proposal have been conflicting on a global scale. Opponents contend that the Trump-led organization, which would need to pay an estimated $1 billion to obtain a permanent seat, might serve as a substitute for the UN, an organization that Trump has regularly criticized.
Putin proposed on January 21 that Russia could pay for a permanent seat with frozen assets. He stated that Moscow might use $1 billion from Russian funds that the US had frozen during the previous administration, a portion of the $5 billion that had been blocked after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has not commented publicly on Putin’s apparent offer.
The board would temporarily take over management and reconstruction of Gaza, according to U.S. officials. There have reportedly been talks about extending the body’s mandate to other conflict areas, such as Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, stated on January 20 that while Kyiv is considering an invitation to join the Board of Peace, it is “difficult to imagine” taking part alongside Belarus and Russia.
“Russia is our enemy, Belarus is their ally,” Zelensky told journalists.
Although Trump had planned to meet Zelensky in Davos, the Ukrainian president ultimately cancelled his trip, choosing to remain in Ukraine amid ongoing Russian strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.