Exclusive: Trump's new Board of Peace could tackle Russia-Ukraine war, source says
Editor's note: The story was updated with additional details.
U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his new Board of Peace during a signing ceremony in Davos on Jan. 22, in an event attended by leaders and officials from 19 signatory states.
The new body is launched primarily to oversee the ceasefire in Gaza, but U.S. officials said it would be expanded to other conflict regions.
A White House official confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that the Board could play a role in other situations, subject to the chairman's discretion and the consent of the relevant states, without ruling out engagement on Russia's war in Ukraine.
"This is not just a 'Board of Peace,' this is a board of action," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after signing.
"It is going to be a successful effort, and you see it reflected here today among countries of different backgrounds from different parts of the world."
Countries represented at the opening ceremony included Turkey, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Argentina, Pakistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
Others, including Belarus, Israel, and Vietnam, have also said they would join the Board, while France, Norway, and Sweden have rejected.
Russia has been invited and said it was considering the option, while Trump claimed that Moscow had already accepted.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had also received an invitation, but stressed that any such effort could only take place after the war ends.
"With Russians, we are enemies. Belarus — (they are) allies of the Russians. We can't be with them. I think so it will work with a monitor mission only after the war ends for us," he said.
While critics fear that the Board could become a competitor to the U.N., Trump claimed it would work in conjunction with the international organization. The U.S. president is chairing the body, which requires a $1 billion fee to secure a permanent seat.
Addressing an audience during the ceremony in Switzerland, Trump hailed the coming "peace in the Middle East" and repeated his claim that he had settled eight conflicts, promising that "another one's coming pretty soon" in reference to Ukraine.
Trump, who is meeting Zelensky later in the day, acknowledged that the Russia-Ukraine war has been the most difficult to settle so far.
The ceremony took place the same day as Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, are scheduled to travel to Moscow to present Russian President Vladimir Putin with a 20-point peace framework for Ukraine.
Witkoff has been optimistic about the progress in negotiations, noting that the talks are "down to one issue."
Zelensky previously said the peace deal is "90% ready," even as some of the most thorny issues — including Moscow's demand that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas region — remain unresolved.
