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: Board of Peace takes shape with few details about mandate, membership ———————————————————————————- Trump inaugurated his newly created Board of Peace with a handful of founding members but offered few details about its mandate and how the panel will work or might pursue efforts to end global conflicts.
Trump hailed the board as “something very, very unique for the world.” Speaking at a ceremony to sign the board’s charter, Trump said it could work with the United Nations to resolve wars not only in the Middle East, where the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza was the genesis of the concept.
But he did not provide specifics about how the board would cooperate with the UN.
A number of countries, many of them close US allies, have expressed concerns Trump might want the board to supplant or rival the UN and have either refused to sign on or remained noncommittal.
Trump and others are signing the Board of Peace documents ———————————————————————- The US president concluded his remarks, and he and leaders from the Board of Peace nations are signing documents.
The White House billed the ceremony as a sort of charter launch, but no charter draft has been publicly released. Nor is a complete membership list clear yet.
Some invitees are still considering whether to join.
Trump affirms global ambition for his Board of Peace ————————————————————– Trump reaffirmed the Board of Peace will start with a focus on Gaza, but then look globally.
“I think we can spread out to other things as we succeed with Gaza, we’re going to be very successful in Gaza,” he said, adding, “We can do numerous other things. Once this board is completely formed, we can do pretty much whatever we want to do.
“He promised again to work “in conjunction with the United Nations, though he still criticised the UN for not doing enough historically.
“I think the combination of the Board of Peace with the kind of people we have here, coupled with the United Nations, can be something very, very unique for the world,” Trump said.
Trump suggests Middle East problems can end easily ————————————————————– The US president says the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza “is really coming to an end” and Hezbollah’s presence in Lebanon amounts to “remnants.” In Gaza, Trump said, “They’re down to little fires. We can put them out very easily.” Trump acknowledged Hezbollah remains in Lebanon, but he downplayed the group’s strength.
“These are remnants. I call them remnants,” Trump said. (AP) SKS SKS
