Trump rolls out his Board of Peace at the Davos forum, but many top US allies aren't participating

President Donald Trump on Thursday, local time, inaugurated his Board of Peace to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, insisting “everyone wants to be a part” of the body he said could eventually rival the United Nations — despite many US allies opting not to participate.

In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Trump sought to create momentum for a project to map out a future of the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize Greenland, then by a dramatic retreat from that push.

“This isn’t the United States, this is for the world,” he said, adding, “I think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza.”

The event featured Ali Shaath, the head of a new, future technocratic government in Gaza, announcing that the Rafah border crossing will open in both directions next week. But there was no confirmation of that from Israel, which said only that it would consider the matter next week. The Gaza side of the crossing, which runs between Gaza and Egypt, is currently under Israeli military control.

The new peace board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders overseeing the ceasefire, but it has morphed into something far more ambitious — and skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some countries usually closest to Washington to take a pass.

Mr Trump asserted that 59 countries had signed onto the board, although only 19 countries were represented at the event. He told the group, ranging from Azerbaijan to Paraguay to Hungary, “You’re the most powerful people in the world.”

Flying back to Washington from Davos, Mr Trump told reporters that some leaders have told him they want to join but first require approval from their parliaments, specifically naming Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Polish President Karol Nawrocki.

Mr Trump has spoken about the board replacing some UN functions, but in his Thursday speech he said the two bodies would work together, even as he denigrated the UN for doing what he said wasn’t enough to calm some conflicts around the globe.

Why some nations aren’t taking part

Some countries have raised questions about invitations Mr Trump extended to Russian President Vladimir Putin and other authoritarian leaders. Britain’s foreign secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that her country wasn’t signing on, noting “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.”

As for Mr Putin, he said his country is still consulting with Moscow’s “strategic partners” before deciding to commit. The Russian was hosting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday in Moscow.

The Kremlin said Thursday that Mr Putin plans to discuss his proposal to send $US1 billion ($1.5b) to the Board of Peace and use it for humanitarian purposes during his talks with Abbas — if Russia can use assets the US had previously blocked. Asked about that idea by reporters, Mr Trump said, “If he’s using his money, that’s great.”

The launch of the board came the same week that Mr Trump rattled European allies with threats to acquire Greenland and punish allies with tariffs — then later backing away. Norway and Sweden have indicated they won’t participate in the board. Canada is uncommitted. France declined, citing concerns the board could seek to replace the UN.

Others voice reservations

The idea for the Board of Peace was first laid out in Mr Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan and even was endorsed by the UN Security Council.

But an Arab diplomat in a European capital said that Middle Eastern governments coordinated their response to Mr Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace and that it was crafted to limit the acceptance to the Gaza plan as mandated by the UN Security Council.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter more freely, the diplomat said the announced acceptance is “preliminary” and that the charter presented by the US administration contradicts in some parts the United Nations’ mission. The diplomat also said that other major powers are unlikely to support the board in its current form.

Mr Trump’s push for peace comes after he threatened military action this month against Iran as it carried out a violent crackdown against some of the largest street protests in years, killing thousands.

Mr Trump, for the time being, has signalled he won’t carry out any new strikes on Iran after he said he received assurances that the Islamic government would not carry out the planned hangings of more than 800 protesters.

But Mr Trump also made the case that his tough approach to Tehran — including strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year — was critical to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal coalescing.

He said Thursday that the US is moving a fleet of ships towards Iran “just in case” it wants to take action against the country over its crackdown on protesters.

And he said he was keeping in place a threat to slap 25 per cent tariffs on countries doing business with Iran. “We’re doing that,” he said. The White House has not yet provided details on that plan, which Mr Trump had announced more than a week ago.

Zelensky flags trilateral talks

Mr Trump also met privately Thursday for about an hour with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but was circumspect about how it went. “I had a good meeting — but I’ve had numerous good meetings with President Zelensky and it doesn’t seem to happen,” Mr Trump said.

He expressed some sympathy for Ukrainians struggling without heat in the winter because of Russian attacks on infrastructure, but also frustration that he has not been able to broker a deal to end the war, noting “the same things that have been holding it up for the past year” continue to be sticking points.

Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for talks with Mr Putin.

Mr Zelensky on Thursday said there would be two days of trilateral meetings involving the US, Ukraine and Russia in the United Arab Emirates starting Friday, following the US talks in Moscow.

“Russians have to be ready for compromises because, you know, everybody has to be ready, not only Ukraine, and this is important for us,” Mr Zelensky said.

Mr Trump said Mr Zelensky told him in the meeting that he’d like to make a deal.

“There were times when Putin didn’t want to make a deal, times when Zelenskyy didn’t want to make deal, and it was like opposite times,” he said. “Now I think they both want to make a deal — but we’ll find out.”