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Trump Rolls Out Board of Peace at Davos01/22 06:19
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Thursday inaugurated
his " Board of Peace " to lead efforts at maintaining a ceasefire in Israel's
war with Hamas, insisting that "everyone wants to be a part" of the body that
could eventually rival the United Nations -- despite many U.S. allies opting
not to participate.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump sought to create momentum for
a project to map out a future of the war-torn Gaza Strip that has been
overshadowed this week, first by his threats to seize Greenland, and then by a
dramatic retreat from that push.
"This isn't the United States, this is for the world," he said, adding, "I
think we can spread it out to other things as we succeed in Gaza."
The event featured Ali Shaath, the head of a new, future technocratic
government in Gaza, announcing that Rafah border crossing will open in both
directions next week.
That's after Israel said in early December it would open the crossing, which
runs between Gaza and Egypt, but has yet to do so. Shaath, an engineer and
former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza, is overseeing the Palestinian
committee set to govern the territory under U.S. supervision.
The new peace board was initially envisioned as a small group of world
leaders overseeing the ceasefire, but has morphed into something far more
ambitious -- and skepticism about its membership and mandate has led some
countries usually closest to Washington take a pass.
Trump tried not to let those not participating ruin his unveiling party,
saying 59 countries had signed onto the board -- even though only
heads-of-state, top diplomats and other officials from only 19 countries plus
the U.S. actually attended. He told the group, ranging from Azerbaijan to
Paraguay to Hungary, "You're the most powerful people in the world."
Trump also said of those assembled "every one of them is a friend of mine"
and noted that in "most cases" they were "very popular leaders. Some cases --
not so popular. That's the way it goes."
He has spoken about the board replacing some U.N. functions and perhaps even
making that entire body obsolete one day. But Trump was more conciliatory in
his remarks on the sidelines of the forum in the Swiss alps.
"We'll do it in conjunction with the United Nations," Trump said, even as he
denigrated the U.N. for doing what he said wasn't enough to calm some conflicts
around the globe.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that some countries' leaders have
indicated that they plan to join but still require approval from their
parliaments, and the Trump administration says it has also gotten queries about
membership from countries that hadn't been invited to participate yet.
Why some countries aren't participating
Big questions remain, however, about what the eventual board will look like.
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. Britain's foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said her country
wasn't signing on "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," she told the BBC.
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
haven't yet committed. Trump calling off the steep tariffs he threatened over
Greenland could ease some allies' reluctance, but the issue is still far from
settled.
The Kremlin said Thursday that 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. But it 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.
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 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 Thursday
repeated his frequently mentioned warnings that the group will have to do so or
face dire consequences.
He also said the war in Gaza "is really coming to an end" while conceding,
"We have little fires that we'll put out. But they're little" and that they had
been "giant, giant, massive fires."
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 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.
Meeting with Zelenskyy
Trump also is speaking later with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
who arrived in Davos. Trump, who continues to struggle to get Zelenskyy and
Putin to agree to terms to end their nearly four-year old war, has repeatedly
expressed frustration with both sides.
"I believe they're at a point now where they can come together and get a
deal done," Trump said Wednesday. "And if they don't, they're stupid -- that
goes for both of them."
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