Kyiv hesitant as Trump invites Ukraine to his Peace Board
Ukraine has received an invitation to join U.S. President Donald Trump's new Board of Peace for Gaza, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Jan. 20.
Zelensky said Ukrainian diplomats are reviewing the invitation but stressed it would be "difficult to imagine" sitting at the body alongside Russia and Belarus, who were also invited.
"Russia is our enemy, Belarus is their ally," Zelensky told journalists.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has supported Russia in its nearly four-year all-out war against Ukraine, allowing Russian forces to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for an invasion into Kyiv Oblast in 2022.
Dozens of countries across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and elsewhere have been invited to the new body designed to oversee the Gaza transition as part of Trump's 20-point plan on ending the Israel-Hamas war.
Governments have been divided on the proposal, as critics fear that the Trump-chaired body — requiring a $1 billion payment to secure a permanent seat — could serve as an alternative to the U.N., an organization the U.S. president has often criticised.
U.S. officials have reportedly also discussed expanding the body to include other conflict zones, including Ukraine.
Hungary and Vietnam have already accepted the invitation, and Belarus said that Lukashenko reacted "positively" to it.
The Kremlin, in turn, said that it is still reviewing the proposal, while France has rejected the offer.
Trump, who is embroiled in a dispute with European leaders over his claim on Greenland, floated imposing 200% tariffs on French wine and champagne to pressure Paris into joining.
The U.S. president plans to hold the board's opening ceremony on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 22.
