Governments reacted cautiously on Sunday to U.S. President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Peace Board,” an initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, a plan that diplomats say could undermine the work of the United Nations, Reuters reported.
Only Hungary, whose leader is a close Trump ally, has unequivocally accepted the invitation. The invitations have been extended to about 60 countries and began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, diplomats said.
Other governments have appeared reluctant to make public statements, leaving officials to anonymously express concerns about the impact on the work of the U.N., N1 info reported.
The board would be chaired by Trump for life and would first address the Gaza conflict before expanding to resolve other conflicts, according to a copy of the letter and draft charter seen by Reuters.
Member states would be limited to a three-year term unless they pay $1 billion each to fund the board’s activities and gain permanent membership, the letter said.
“This simply offers permanent membership to partner countries that demonstrate a deep commitment to peace, security and prosperity,” the White House said in a post on X.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, who is visiting South Korea, told reporters that her country was “ready to do its part,” although it was unclear whether she was referring specifically to Gaza or to broader peace.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sunday he agreed in principle to Trump’s Gaza Peace Committee, although the details are still being worked out.
The mandate of the Peace Committee was approved by the United Nations Security Council only until 2027 and was exclusively focused on the conflict in Gaza.
The inclusion of the “charter” in the invitation letter has raised concerns among some European governments that it could undermine the work of the United Nations, which Trump has accused of failing to support his efforts to end conflicts around the world.
“This is ‘Trump’s United Nations’ that ignores the foundations of the UN Charter,” one diplomat said.
Three other Western diplomats said it looked as if it would undermine the United Nations if it went ahead.
Three other diplomats and an Israeli source said Trump wants the Peace Committee to eventually have a broader role beyond Gaza to oversee other conflicts that Trump has said he has resolved.
Among those invited to the committee are the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Australia, Canada, the European Commission and key Middle East powers, according to the officials.
In what appears to be a nod to the United Nations, the document adds that there is “a need for a more agile and effective international peacebuilding body.”
“This board will be unique, there has never been anything like it!” Trump said in the letter.
Responding to a question from reporters, the senior UN official did not directly address the plan, but said the United Nations is the only institution with the moral and legal capacity to bring together all nations, large or small.
“And if we question that… we are going back to very, very dark times,” Annalena Baerbock, president of the UN General Assembly, told Sky News, adding that it was up to individual states to decide what to do.
Foto: Wikimedia/Gage Skidmore – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic – CC-BY-SA-2.0
