Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled what he called a Board of Peace, announcing that dozens of world leaders have signed on to pursue a lasting agreement for Gaza.
The president inaugurated the board during a speech and signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos.
“Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do. And we’ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations,” President Trump said.
“This isn’t the United States, this is for the world,” he added. “I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.”
President Trump said 59 leaders had joined the effort, describing many of them as “very popular,” while acknowledging others were “not so popular.”
“That’s the way it goes,” he said.
Several major global powers have not joined the board. Russian President Vladimir Putin was notably absent, though Russian officials said Moscow is discussing possible participation through other partners.
The United Kingdom has also declined to join for now. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the proposed treaty raises broader legal and political concerns.
“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,” Cooper told the BBC.
Norway and Sweden indicated they would not participate, following France’s decision to stay out. French officials said they support efforts toward peace in Gaza but are concerned the new board could attempt to replace the United Nations as the primary forum for resolving international conflicts.
President Trump has previously suggested the board could make the United Nations obsolete, but he struck a more conciliatory tone in Davos.
Canada and China have also not signed on to the Board of Peace, according to officials familiar with the discussions.