Trump is rolling out his Board of Peace at Davos at a time when US
leadership is being questioned
[January 22, 2026]
By JOSH BOAK, AAMER MADHANI and WILL WEISSERT
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — President Donald Trump wants to spotlight his
proposed “ Board of Peace ” at the World Economic Forum on Thursday,
looking to create momentum for a project that has been overshadowed this
week first by his threats to seize Greenland, and then by a dramatic
retreat from that push.
The new board was initially envisioned as a small group of world leaders
overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, but has morphed into something far more
ambitious — and skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some
traditional U.S. allies to so far take a pass.
Trump expressed confidence in his idea ahead of what the White House
said would be a “charter announcement" on the sidelines of the forum in
the Swiss alps, featuring opening remarks by Trump and a collection of
administration officials and leaders from various countries.
“We have a lot of great people that want to join,” Trump said with
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by his side during a Wednesday
meeting. Egypt is among the countries that has announced it will join
the board. Trump added, “It’s going to be the most prestigious board
ever formed.”
Attending are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. special envoy Steve
Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’ son-in-law and a key overseas
negotiator for his administration on several fronts.
Also on-hand will be leaders or top diplomats from several countries,
including Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan;
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev; Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinyan, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña; and President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan.
The list also includes Argentina President Javier Milei and Indonesia
President Prabowo Subianto, both Trump allies, and the heads of several
state-run sovereign wealth funds.
Some 35 countries had agreed to sign on to the project, a senior
administration official told reporters, and 60 nations had been invited
to join. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground
rules set by the White House.
Trump, who has spoken about the board replacing some of the functions of
the United Nations and perhaps even making it eventually obsolete, said
some countries’ leaders have indicated that they plan to join but still
require approval from their parliaments, and said his administration is
also receiving queries about membership from countries that hadn’t been
invited to join.
Some key US allies are skipping the event
Big questions remain, though. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his
country is still consulting with Moscow’s “strategic partners” before
deciding to commit. The Russian president on Thursday is due to host
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for talks in Moscow.
Others are asking why Putin and other authoritarian leaders had even
been invited to join. Trump said he wanted “everybody” who was powerful.
“I have some controversial people. But these are people that get the job
done. These are people that have tremendous influence.”
Britain’s foreign secretary said Thursday that the U.K. plans to skip
the ceremony.
“We won’t be one of the signatories today,” Yvette Cooper told the BBC.
“Because this is about a legal treaty that raises much broader issues,
and we do also have concerns about President Putin being part of
something which is talking about peace, when we have still not seen any
signs from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine.”
Other European nations have similarly declined their invitations.
Norway and Sweden have indicated that they won’t participate, after
France also said no. French officials stressed that while they support
the Gaza peace plan, they were concerned the board could seek to replace
the U.N. as the main venue for resolving conflicts.
Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said “the time has not yet come to
accept the invitation,” according to the STA news agency, with the main
concern being the board’s mandate may be too broad and could undermine
international order based on the U.N. Charter.
Canada, Russia, Ukraine, China and the executive arm of the European
Union also have not yet indicated their response to Trump’s invitations.
Trump calling off the steep tariffs he threatened over Greenland could
ease some allies' reluctance — but the issue is still far from settled.
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President Donald Trump gestures after his special address during the
56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos,
Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone
via AP)
The Kremlin said Putin will meet late Thursday with Witkoff and
Kushner. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin “highly values
peacemaking efforts by President Donald Trump and his team.”
Putin plans to discuss his proposal to send $1 billion to the Board
of Peace and use it for humanitarian purposes during his talks with
Abbas, Peskov said. But he noted that the use of those assets will
require the U.S. action to unblock them.
Board grew out of ceasefire proposal
The idea for the Board of Peace was first laid out in Trump's
20-point Gaza ceasefire plan and even was endorsed by the U.N.
Security Council.
Invitation letters to world leaders ahead of Davos indicated that
the panel may not confine their work to Gaza.
When asked by a reporter earlier this week if the board should
replace the U.N., Trump replied that “it might.” He asserted that
the world body “hasn’t been very helpful” and “has never lived up to
its potential” but also said the U.N. should continue ”because the
potential is so great.”
Trump's hopes for the board received some good news on Wednesday,
when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he’s agreed
to join, after his office has earlier criticized the makeup of the
board’s committee tasked with overseeing Gaza.
Months into the ceasefire, Gaza’s more than 2 million Palestinians
continue to suffer the humanitarian crisis unleashed by over two
years of war. And violence in Gaza, while not at the same level as
before the October ceasefire and hostage deal was agreed on,
continues.
Key to the truce in Gaza continuing to hold is the disarming of
Hamas, something the militant group that has controlled the
Palestinian territory since 2007 has refused to do and that Israel
sees as non-negotiable.
Trump on Wednesday said his administration should know in the next
few weeks whether Hamas would come to terms on laying down their
weapons.
“If they don’t do it," Trump said, "they’ll be blown away. Very
quickly."
Iran protests loom in background
Trump's push for peace also comes after he threatened military
action this month against Iran as it carried out a violent crackdown
against some of the largest street protests in years, killing
thousands.
Trump, for the time being, has signaled he won't carry out any new
strikes on Iran after he said he received assurances that the
Islamic government would not carry out the planned hangings of more
than 800 protesters.
But even as he prepared to unveil his Board of Peace, Trump also
made the case that his tough approach to Tehran — including strikes
on Iran's nuclear facilities in June last year — was critical to the
Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal coalescing. Iran was Hamas' most
important patron, providing the group hundreds of millions of
dollars in military aid, weapons, training and financial support
over the years.
“If we didn’t do that, there was no chance of making peace," Trump
said of Iran.
Meeting with Zelenskyy
Trump also expects to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, who arrived in Davos on Thursday morning for a meeting
expected after the morning's Board of Peace announcement.
But Trump, who continues to struggle to get Zelenskyy and Putin to
agree to terms to end their nearly four-year old war, again
expressed frustration with both on Wednesday.
“I believe they’re at a point now where they can come together and
get a deal done,” Trump said. “And if they don’t, they’re stupid —
that goes for both of them.”
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Madhani and Weissert reported from Washington.
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