Putin invited to join Trump's new Gaza Peace Board, Kremlin claims
Russian President Vladimir Putin has received an invitation to join U.S. President Donald Trump's new Board of Peace for Gaza, the Kremlin claimed on Jan. 19.
Moscow is currently studying the proposal, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to state news agency TASS.
U.S. officials have not yet commented on the claim, which could not be independently verified.
The international Board of Peace is meant to oversee the 20-point ceasefire deal the U.S. brokered between Israel and Hamas last October. Several countries, including India, Canada, Turkey, Argentina, and Hungary, said they had also received an invitation.
According to a draft charter seen by Bloomberg, countries would have to pay $1 billion to secure a permanent seat on the Board. Otherwise, each member would serve a term of no more than three years, subject to renewal by its chairperson.
With Trump taking the lead as the inaugural chairman of the board, critics fear that the U.S. president is building his own alternative to the U.N., Bloomberg reported.
Should Russia secure a seat on the Board of Peace, it would serve in the role while simultaneously waging an all-out war against Ukraine.
Unlike his predecessor, Joe Biden, Trump has sought to engage Putin diplomatically to end hostilities in Ukraine. The year-long effort has failed to secure a ceasefire, with Moscow escalating strikes against Ukrainian cities over the winter.
The Financial Times reported that U.S. officials consider "expanding" the Gaza Board of Peace to also include other conflict zones, including Ukraine.
Working alongside the Board of Peace will be an Executive Board made up of several of the president's top aides, including Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as foreign public figures like ex-U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The Executive Board will aim to ensure that Gaza, heavily ravaged by the war that broke out in October 2023, "transitions from conflict to peace and development," the White House said.
