by Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters
US president at Davos: "Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do."
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US President Donald Trump officially launched Gaza's Board of Peace's (BoP) on Thursday, signing its charter in a ceremony in Davos, Switzerland.
"Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do. And we'll do it in conjunction with the United Nations," Trump said, adding that the UN had great potential that had not been fully utilized.
Trump, who will chair the board, has invited dozens of other world leaders to join it and sees the grouping addressing other global challenges beyond the stuttering Gaza truce, though he has said he does not intend it to replace the United Nations.
Some traditional US allies have balked at joining the board, which Trump says permanent members must help fund with a $1 billion payment each, either responding cautiously or declining the invitation.
Apart from the US, no other permanent member of the UN Security Council - the five nations with the most say over international law and diplomacy since the end of World War Two - has yet committed to join.
Russia said late on Wednesday it was studying the proposal after Trump said it would join. France has declined. Britain said on Thursday it was not joining at present. China has not yet said whether it will join.
Trump signs Board of Peace charter
The board's creation was endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution as part of Trump's Gaza peace plan, and UN spokesperson Rolando Gomez said on Thursday that UN engagement with the board would be limited to that context.
However, around 35 countries have committed to join, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Turkey, and Belarus.
Few of the countries that have signed up for the board are democracies, although Israel and Hungary, whose leaders are both seen as close allies of Trump and supporters of his approach to politics and diplomacy, have said they will join.
"There's tremendous potential with the United Nations, and I think the combination of the Board of Peace with the kind of people we have here ... could be something very, very unique for the world," Trump said.
Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters
Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-884201
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