President Donald Trump hosted a signing ceremony for his Board of Peace with more than 20 on board — but none are European allies.
The ceremony occurred Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, ABC News reported.
The president said it was a “very exciting day” and the board would become one of the “most consequential bodies” ever created.
“As everyone can see today, the first steps toward a brighter day for the Middle East and a much safer future for the world are unfolding right before your very eyes,” Trump said.
“Together we are in a position to have an incredible chance — I don’t even call it a chance, I think it’s going to happen — to end decades of suffering, stop generations of hatred and bloodshed and forge a beautiful, ever-lasting and glorious peace for that region,” Trump added.
More than two dozen countries have so far accepted Trump’s invitation to join the board. However, none of the U.S.’s major European allies have joined.
He described those who were present Thursday as “just the countries that are here.”
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U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on CNBC Wednesday that up to 25 countries had accepted the invitation to join the board.
As of Thursday morning, more than 20 countries have said they had accepted Trump’s invitation. Those countries were: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Invitations were sent to more than 50 world leaders, according to U.S. officials. About 30 countries were expected to join, a White House official said.
“I think the board of peace will be the most prestigious board ever, and it’s going to get a lot of work done that the United Nations should have done,” Trump said Wednesday. “And we’ll work with the United Nations. But the Board of Peace is going to be special. We’re going to have peace.”
A reporter at the White House asked Tuesday if the board would replace the U.N.
“It might,” Trump responded.
France, Norway, and Sweden, have declined or expressed significant reservations about the board,. Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy have remained noncommittal.
Russia was also extended an invitation, the Kremlin confirmed this week.
“The proposal made to us primarily concerns the settlement in the Middle East and the search for possible ways to resolve the pressing problems of the Palestinian people and the most acute problems of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told a Russian Security Council meeting, state media reported.
Yvette Cooper, the U.K.’s foreign secretary, said during a BBC interview Thursday that the U.K. has “concerns” about Putin being invited to be “part of something that’s talking about peace when we’ve still not seen any signs from Putin that there will be commitment to peace in Ukraine.”
The Board of Peace created to manage and rebuild Gaza, but the board’s charter makes no direct reference to Gaza.
