UK holds off joining Trump’s peace board over Putin concerns

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the UK would not yet join the peace council set up by US President Donald Trump due to concerns about the potential participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Cooper told the BBC that the UK had received an invitation to join the board but “would not be one of the signatories today” at a ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The United States describes the council, which gives Trump broad decision-making powers as president, as a new international conflict resolution organization.

Cooper described the council as “a legal treaty that raises much broader issues” than the initiative’s initial focus on ending the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The charter proposed by the White House does not mention the Palestinian territories, and critics say the council appears designed to replace some of the United Nations’ tasks.

Some traditional US allies have not agreed to join the council, and in particular, none of the other permanent members of the UN Security Council – China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom – have yet committed to participating.

The United Nations Security Council has been the main international platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution since the end of World War II.

But Trump said during the signing ceremony in the presence of world leaders in Davos that he does not intend to be an alternative to the United Nations, and expressed his belief that it will help achieve “lasting” peace in the Middle East.

Trump said the board has the opportunity to be “one of the most important bodies ever created.”

“We are committed to ensuring that Gaza is demilitarized, properly governed, and beautifully rebuilt,” Trump said. “It would be a wonderful plan, and this is where the peace council began.”

Trump said that once the board is fully formed, “we can pretty much do whatever we want to do.”

“But we will do this in cooperation with the United Nations,” he added.

President Trump was joined by leaders and representatives of 19 countries at the peace council signing ceremony, including Argentina, Hungary, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

President Trump also said Putin had accepted an invitation to join the initiative.

But the Russian President did not confirm this, and said earlier that his country was still studying the invitation.

Putin said the idea of ​​using Russian assets frozen in the United States as a contribution to the board would be discussed at a meeting with representatives of the Trump administration later on Thursday, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast from Davos, Cooper said the UK had been invited to join the council and strongly supported Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza.

“That is why we have also made it clear that we want to play our role in the second phase of the peace process in Gaza,” Cooper said.

But she added: “We will not be a signatory today because this is a legal treaty that raises much broader issues.

“We also have concerns about President Putin being part of something that talks about peace when we have not yet seen any signs from Putin that there will be a commitment to peace in Ukraine.”

She said Putin had shown no willingness “to come and conclude this agreement and that is where the pressure should be now.”

“But we will have ongoing international discussions, including with our allies,” the Foreign Minister said.

Diplomatic relations between the United States and the United Kingdom are on shaky ground after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on European countries if his demand to hand over control of Greenland to his country is not met.

But Trump appeared to back down, saying the US was exploring a potential deal on Greenland after talks with NATO, where he dropped tariffs on eight European countries and ruled out the use of force to take control of the island.

Cooper welcomed the apparent decline in Greenland and said the UK and its European allies had made “positive and constructive proposals” on security in the Arctic.

But when asked about the peace council, Cooper echoed other UK government ministers who in recent days have expressed concerns about Putin’s potential role in the plot, given Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The United Kingdom was one of Ukraine’s strongest allies, and signed a declaration of intent with France regarding the deployment of troops in the country if a peace agreement was reached with Russia.

As talks continue to end the war in Ukraine, President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are scheduled to meet in Davos on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Trump repeated his often-stated belief that Putin and Zelensky are close to reaching an agreement.

The Trump Peace Council was originally unveiled by the White House as part of a plan to rebuild Gaza and design its future governance.

But the leaked text of the council’s founding charter goes beyond this purpose.

The text says the council will be “an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore reliable legal rule, and secure lasting peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”

The leaked document says the Peace Council’s charter will come into force once three countries formally agree to abide by it, with member states given renewable three-year terms and permanent seats available to those who contribute $1bn (£740m).

The Charter declared the body to be an international organization charged with carrying out peacebuilding functions under international law, with Trump serving as its president – and separately as a representative of the United States – and with the authority to appoint members of the Executive Council and to establish or dissolve subsidiary bodies.

Last Friday, the White House appointed seven members to the founding Executive Council, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

More have now said they will join, including Pakistan, Egypt and Qatar.

The Vatican said the Pope also received an invitation.