U.S. President Donald Trump held a signing ceremony on Thursday for the founding charter of the “Board of Peace,” a new international body intended to help resolve global conflicts. Meduza explains what we know about the new initiative and what Ukraine and Russia have said about whether they will join it.
Although the “Board of Peace” was initially billed as an international council to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, the charter itself makes no reference to the Palestinian territory. Membership in the Board of Peace is by invitation only. Permanent membership on the board costs $1 billion, and the charter names Donald Trump as the organization’s founding chair, a position he is allowed to hold for life.
Invitations were sent to several dozen countries ahead of the signing, including Russia and Belarus — a decision that drew surprise from some observers. Trump addressed the issue while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, telling reporters: “We want everybody. I have some controversial people on, but these are people that get the job done. These are people that have tremendous influence. All babies on the board, it wouldn’t be very much.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged receiving an invitation on Thursday. While he said that Moscow has not yet decided whether to join, he added that Russia is prepared to transfer $1 billion from Russian assets frozen in the United States to support the initiative, citing what he described as “Russia’s special relationship with the Palestinian people.” His remarks suggest that the Kremlin continues to view the Board of Peace primarily as a governing or administrative mechanism for Gaza. This could be due to the fact that the Board of Peace has a concrete, U.N.-sanctioned project in Gaza, whereas all of Trump’s other plans for the organization so far have been limited to vague statements.
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Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko accepted his invitation even before the charter’s signing, inking a membership agreement on Tuesday. Although the charter stipulates that members must pay $1 billion to remain on the board beyond three years, Lukashenko claimed that “if you work well for the sake of peace, then you can continue without the billion.”
Several invited countries have yet to give a final answer, including China. Others declined outright, such as the U.K., France, Sweden, and Norway. Canada was reportedly still weighing the invitation as of January 20, but on Thursday, Trump announced on social media that he was rescinding it. The decision followed a speech by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the World Economic Forum that was widely interpreted as critical of Trump.
The first governments to accept invitations were largely those with a strong interest in maintaining or improving relations with Trump. They include close U.S. partners such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, both of which depend heavily on American security guarantees. Other participants, including Uzbekistan and Armenia, have sought U.S. backing as a counterweight to Russian or Chinese influence. In some cases — such as Argentina and Hungary — participation appears to reflect personal ties between leaders: Presidents Javier Milei and Viktor Orbán have both positioned themselves as Trump’s ideological allies and have openly counted on his political support.
Shortly after the charter was signed in Davos, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the forum and met with Trump. Zelensky has also received an invitation to join the Board of Peace, putting Kyiv in a complicated position. Trump’s continued support is crucial for Ukraine’s defense effort, but accepting the invitation would mean Zelensky sitting on the same board as Lukashenko — and potentially Putin. After the meeting, Trump said that the two had not discussed the Board of Peace.