Putin Invited to Join Trump's Proposed 'Board of Peace'

The White House has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join a “Board of Peace” for resolving global conflicts, the Kremlin said Monday. “President Putin received an invitation through diplomatic channels to become a member of this Board of Peace,” top spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing. “At the moment, we’re looking at all the details of this proposal, and we hope to discuss all of the nuances with the Americans,” Peskov added. On Friday, the Trump administration announced the formation of the “Board of Peace,” which was conceived to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza after more than two years of heavy Israeli bombardment. The board would be chaired for life by Trump and would start by addressing the Gaza conflict, Reuters reported, citing a draft charter. The initiative would then be expanded to deal with other conflicts as a new international peacekeeping body. Invitations to join the “Board of Peace” were sent to around 60 countries this weekend, but only Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a close Trump ally, has officially signed up for the initiative. The White House is inviting countries to join as permanent members if they pay $1 billion within the first year of joining, Reuters reported. A mandate for a “Board of Peace” was authorized by the UN Security Council in November, but it would focus solely on the conflict in Gaza. Russia and China abstained from voting on the resolution, arguing that it did not give the UN a clear role in mediation efforts. This is a breaking news story.