Davos, Jan 22 (AP) US President Donald Trump is hosting presidents, prime ministers and top diplomats from more than a dozen countries to tout his international “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum
in Davos, Switzerland.
The list of attendees, according to a forum schedule, is heavy on the Middle East and South America. But it remains short on major US allies from Europe, and the full membership list still isn’t clear. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US envoy Steve Witkoff are with Trump.
Europe is breathing a sigh of relief Thursday following Trump’s dramatic reversal over Greenland the day before in Davos, where he scrapped the tariffs that he threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for US control over Greenland.
Here is the latest: Zelenskyy arrives for Davos talks —————————————- Ukrainian President Volodymyr has arrived at the Congress Centre ahead of his panel discussion.
He walked past the media without answering questions.
Putin meets with Palestinian President Abbas in Moscow —————————————————————– Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Moscow for talks.
The Russian leader noted that “back in 1988, the Soviet Union recognised the Palestinian state, and we maintain the same position today.” “Our approach to the issues of Palestine and the Middle East settlement is principled, not opportunistic. We believe that only the formation and proper functioning of the Palestinian state can lead to a final settlement of the Middle East conflict,” Putin said.
Putin said the two will discuss the situation in Gaza and “on the Israeli-Palestinian track,” including Trump’s peace plan.
Moscow is considering an invitation to join, according to Putin, who has proposed sending $1 billion to the board from Russian assets frozen in the US.
“First and foremost, in order to support the Palestinian people, allocate these funds for rebuilding Gaza, generally for solving problems of Palestine,” Putin told Abbas.
“I think it is quite possible,” Putin added. “We have discussed such options before with the representatives of the US administration, and today a meeting and a conversation on this topic is planned in Moscow.” Putin is due to meet on Thursday with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
China refutes Trump’s wind power claim ———————————————— China on Thursday refuted Trump’s claim that it doesn’t use wind power turbines at home while dominating the international market for them.
Trump blasted wind energy in a speech on Wednesday in Davos, saying “stupid people” were buying windmills from China, which doesn’t use them at home.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China had 600 million kilowatts of wind power capacity as of the end of November, adding that Chinese exports of wind and solar power equipment had helped other countries reduce their carbon emissions.
“China’s efforts in addressing climate change and promoting the development and application of global renewable energy are evident to all,” he said in Beijing. (AP) SKS SKS
